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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: wax · content · clip · fine · roll · court · mark · snap

  1. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. We're on a ________________ here.
  10. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  16. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  19. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  20. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  21. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  22. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  23. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  24. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. clip — to cut
  3. content — the amount
  4. mark — a grade
  5. court — of a king
  6. fine — all right
  7. clip — a video
  8. content — happy
  9. roll — on a roll
  10. fine — high quality
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. wax — to grow
  13. clip — for paper
  14. court — of law
  15. mark — to pay attention
  16. wax — in the ear
  17. court — for sport
  18. snap — to speak sharply
  19. roll — a cake
  20. fine — a penalty
  21. mark — a trace
  22. wax — for sculpting
  23. snap — to snap out of it
  24. roll — a list

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