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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.

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: bass · wax · clip · last · mate · pound · rock · press

  1. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  4. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  9. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  10. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  11. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  12. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  13. Have you found your soul ________________?
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. Did you ________________ the button?
  17. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  18. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  19. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  20. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  23. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  24. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. mate — a friend
  4. pound — to hit hard
  5. clip — a video
  6. clip — to cut
  7. last — finally
  8. wax — to grow
  9. bass — the fish
  10. press — a publisher
  11. rock — to move gently
  12. rock — a stone
  13. mate — a partner
  14. clip — for paper
  15. last — final
  16. press — to push
  17. rock — music
  18. pound — for dogs
  19. pound — a weight
  20. press — newspapers
  21. last — to go on
  22. bass — the instrument
  23. bass — low music
  24. mate — to breed

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