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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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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 · roll · chip · season · wax · rush · club · tear

  1. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  3. That must've been a ________________.
  4. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  5. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  6. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  7. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  8. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  9. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  10. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  13. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  23. Did you ________________ the meat?
  24. We're on a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. rush — hurry
  3. rush — a thrill
  4. chip — to eat
  5. club — for dancing
  6. club — a group
  7. wax — in the ear
  8. chip — for betting
  9. wax — to grow
  10. roll — a cake
  11. tear — to rip
  12. chip — in a computer
  13. rush — to hurry
  14. tear — from crying
  15. season — in sport
  16. clip — a video
  17. club — for golf
  18. tear — from crying
  19. roll — a list
  20. clip — for paper
  21. clip — to cut
  22. season — of the year
  23. season — to add flavour
  24. roll — on a roll

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