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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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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: clip · dip · wind · ball · wound · calf · rush · wax

  1. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  2. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  3. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  8. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  15. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  16. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  17. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  18. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. The King held a masked ________________.
  21. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. That must've been a ________________.
  24. The kitten curled into a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — of the leg
  2. rush — to hurry
  3. dip — to dunk
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. clip — for paper
  6. wound — an injury
  7. ball — a great time
  8. calf — a young animal
  9. clip — a video
  10. rush — hurry
  11. wind — moving air
  12. wind — moving air
  13. wound — an injury
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. wax — for sculpting
  16. wax — in the ear
  17. dip — a sauce
  18. wax — to grow
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. ball — a dance
  21. dip — to sink
  22. clip — to cut
  23. rush — a thrill
  24. ball — a round shape

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