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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 116 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: march · key · degree · wax · snap · mug · clip · rash

  1. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  7. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  10. Don't do anything ________________.
  11. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. This piece is in a major ________________.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  17. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  18. Where did you ________________ them?
  19. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  20. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  21. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. He refilled his coffee ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. degree — an amount
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. rash — on the skin
  5. degree — temperature
  6. key — for a lock
  7. snap — to snap out of it
  8. march — the month
  9. snap — to speak sharply
  10. rash — hasty
  11. key — the most important part
  12. degree — from a university
  13. key — in music
  14. clip — a video
  15. clip — for paper
  16. rash — a series
  17. wax — to grow
  18. mug — to rob
  19. mug — a face
  20. wax — in the ear
  21. snap — to click
  22. march — music
  23. march — the month
  24. mug — a cup

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