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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: sharp · track · nail · clip · wax · squash · press · kick

  1. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  2. It's one o'clock ________________.
  3. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  4. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  5. Did you ________________ the button?
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  8. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  9. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  10. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  11. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  12. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  17. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  18. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  19. The ________________ went through the wall.
  20. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  21. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  22. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  23. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  24. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. sharp — exactly
  3. nail — on a finger
  4. wax — in the ear
  5. press — to push
  6. clip — to cut
  7. wax — to grow
  8. kick — with a leg
  9. sharp — with an edge
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. wax — for sculpting
  12. press — newspapers
  13. clip — a video
  14. squash — the sport
  15. clip — for paper
  16. squash — to crush
  17. sharp — clever
  18. track — a song
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. kick — a thrill
  21. kick — in football
  22. press — a publisher
  23. track — to keep track
  24. squash — the vegetable

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