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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: dip · pitcher · clip · kick · mark · wax · lean · degree

  1. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  2. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  3. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  4. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  5. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  10. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  11. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  12. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  13. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  14. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  15. He is an ace ________________.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  18. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  19. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  20. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  21. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. dip — a sauce
  3. kick — a thrill
  4. mark — to pay attention
  5. mark — a grade
  6. degree — an amount
  7. wax — for sculpting
  8. clip — for paper
  9. lean — to bend
  10. kick — with a leg
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. wax — in the ear
  13. kick — in football
  14. wax — to grow
  15. pitcher — in baseball
  16. clip — to cut
  17. lean — to rest against
  18. lean — thin
  19. mark — a trace
  20. dip — to dunk
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. degree — from a university
  23. degree — temperature
  24. dip — to sink

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