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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: wax · patient · clip · trunk · present · tear · lean · cap

  1. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  3. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  6. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  10. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  11. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  14. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  15. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  16. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  17. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  18. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  19. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  22. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  23. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  24. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. trunk — of a car
  3. wax — in the ear
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. lean — to bend
  7. clip — a video
  8. clip — for paper
  9. lean — thin
  10. cap — a hat
  11. wax — to grow
  12. clip — to cut
  13. wax — for sculpting
  14. cap — of ice
  15. patient — calm and waiting
  16. present — the time now
  17. cap — a lid
  18. trunk — of a tree
  19. present — there
  20. tear — to rip
  21. lean — to rest against
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. present — a gift
  24. tear — from crying

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com