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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 120 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: wake · firm · cap · press · ground · wax · clip · staff

  1. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  4. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  5. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  6. There's no middle ________________.
  7. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  8. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  9. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  10. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  11. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  12. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  16. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  17. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  18. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  19. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  20. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  21. Did you ________________ the button?
  22. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  23. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. wax — to grow
  3. ground — the earth
  4. staff — a stick
  5. wake — before a funeral
  6. ground — a position
  7. firm — decided
  8. wake — to stop sleeping
  9. firm — a company
  10. press — a publisher
  11. firm — steady
  12. staff — employees
  13. clip — to cut
  14. clip — a video
  15. wax — in the ear
  16. wax — for sculpting
  17. press — newspapers
  18. ground — crushed
  19. cap — of ice
  20. cap — a hat
  21. press — to push
  22. staff — employees
  23. cap — a lid
  24. wake — a trail

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