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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: bank · mark · clip · degree · kid · toast · last · wax

  1. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  2. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  8. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  21. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  22. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  23. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  24. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — a grade
  2. bank — for money
  3. clip — for paper
  4. last — final
  5. clip — to cut
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. mark — a trace
  8. toast — bread
  9. clip — a video
  10. kid — to tease
  11. last — to go on
  12. bank — of a river
  13. degree — temperature
  14. kid — child
  15. last — finally
  16. toast — a drink to someone
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. degree — an amount
  19. degree — from a university
  20. mark — to pay attention
  21. wax — in the ear
  22. toast — the most admired
  23. wax — to grow
  24. bank — for money

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