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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: content · dip · rush · clip · stock · wax · net · kick

  1. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  2. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  4. That must've been a ________________.
  5. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  6. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. The ________________ market has crashed.
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  15. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  16. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  17. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  18. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  19. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. wax — to grow
  3. kick — in football
  4. rush — a thrill
  5. dip — to dunk
  6. rush — to hurry
  7. content — the amount
  8. stock — shares
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. wax — for sculpting
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. content — happy
  13. net — in sport
  14. net — after costs
  15. dip — a sauce
  16. stock — a soup base
  17. dip — to sink
  18. kick — with a leg
  19. stock — goods
  20. clip — for paper
  21. rush — hurry
  22. clip — a video
  23. clip — to cut
  24. net — for catching

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