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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 120 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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: mark · wax · clip · arm · lie · chest · hand · tube

  1. I'll be taking the ________________.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  4. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  5. My father caught me by the ________________.
  6. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  14. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  15. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  18. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  21. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — the underground
  2. clip — a video
  3. mark — a grade
  4. mark — a trace
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. tube — a container
  7. hand — help
  8. wax — in the ear
  9. clip — for paper
  10. wax — to grow
  11. chest — a box
  12. chest — of your body
  13. wax — for sculpting
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. mark — to pay attention
  16. clip — to cut
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. arm — a part of something
  19. hand — in cards
  20. tube — in a tire
  21. lie — to recline
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. lie — an untruth
  24. chest — of your body

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