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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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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: clip · roll · content · kid · stick · wake · wax · lie

  1. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  7. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  8. We're on a ________________ here.
  9. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  16. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  17. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  18. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  19. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  20. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  21. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  22. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. The moon will ________________ and wane.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. clip — for paper
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. clip — a video
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. wake — before a funeral
  7. wax — in the ear
  8. roll — on a roll
  9. roll — a cake
  10. kid — to tease
  11. clip — to cut
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. kid — child
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. roll — a list
  17. wake — to stop sleeping
  18. lie — to recline
  19. stick — to attach or keep to
  20. wax — for sculpting
  21. wake — a trail
  22. stick — a piece of wood
  23. content — the amount
  24. wax — to grow

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