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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.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
468
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: press · scale · rush · lean · clip · wax · net · bass

  1. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  4. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  5. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  6. That must've been a ________________.
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  9. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  10. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  11. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  12. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  13. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  14. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  15. Did you ________________ the button?
  16. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  17. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  23. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. wax — to grow
  3. wax — in the ear
  4. lean — thin
  5. bass — the instrument
  6. rush — a thrill
  7. net — in sport
  8. net — after costs
  9. scale — in music
  10. lean — to rest against
  11. wax — for sculpting
  12. scale — for weighing
  13. bass — low music
  14. bass — the fish
  15. press — to push
  16. press — newspapers
  17. scale — size or range
  18. clip — to cut
  19. net — for catching
  20. rush — to hurry
  21. clip — for paper
  22. lean — to bend
  23. press — a publisher
  24. clip — a video

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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