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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: pitcher · content · wax · pop · rest · jam · press · clip

  1. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  2. He is an ace ________________.
  3. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  4. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  5. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. Did you ________________ the button?
  8. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  9. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  10. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  16. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  17. We're almost out of ________________.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  20. You don't need to ________________ round.
  21. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  22. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. The moon will ________________ and wane.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. pop — music
  4. press — a publisher
  5. rest — what's left
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. press — to push
  8. wax — in the ear
  9. jam — a tight spot
  10. jam — in traffic
  11. content — the amount
  12. jam — to spread on bread
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. clip — to cut
  15. rest — a break
  16. rest — what's left
  17. pop — soda
  18. content — happy
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. pop — to visit
  21. press — newspapers
  22. wax — for sculpting
  23. clip — for paper
  24. wax — to grow

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