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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: clip · track · shower · dip · pitch · wax · last · wave

  1. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  2. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  8. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  14. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  15. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  16. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  19. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  20. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  21. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  24. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — to dunk
  2. pitch — a sports field
  3. clip — a video
  4. shower — to wash
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. wax — to grow
  8. track — a path
  9. clip — for paper
  10. last — to go on
  11. last — finally
  12. last — final
  13. track — a song
  14. pitch — completely
  15. dip — to sink
  16. wave — of the sea
  17. shower — rain
  18. wave — with your hand
  19. dip — a sauce
  20. wave — a sudden rise
  21. wax — in the ear
  22. clip — to cut
  23. track — to keep track
  24. pitch — a sales talk

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