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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
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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: kick · clip · degree · track · capital · firm · wax · spell

  1. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  2. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. How do you ________________ your surname?
  9. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  12. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  13. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  14. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  15. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  16. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  17. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a song
  2. firm — decided
  3. wax — to grow
  4. degree — temperature
  5. degree — from a university
  6. firm — steady
  7. degree — an amount
  8. spell — letters
  9. kick — with a leg
  10. clip — for paper
  11. firm — a company
  12. spell — magic
  13. wax — for sculpting
  14. spell — a short time
  15. track — to keep track
  16. wax — in the ear
  17. kick — in football
  18. clip — to cut
  19. kick — a thrill
  20. capital — a city
  21. clip — a video
  22. track — a path
  23. capital — money
  24. capital — a big letter

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