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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: dip · clip · wax · game · calf · press · march · pound

  1. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  9. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  12. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  13. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  14. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  17. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  20. Did you ________________ the button?
  21. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  24. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. clip — to cut
  5. dip — a sauce
  6. game — a match
  7. game — wild animals
  8. press — newspapers
  9. dip — to sink
  10. march — music
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. dip — to dunk
  13. wax — to grow
  14. pound — to hit hard
  15. clip — a video
  16. pound — for dogs
  17. pound — a weight
  18. clip — for paper
  19. wax — for sculpting
  20. press — to push
  21. calf — of the leg
  22. march — the month
  23. press — a publisher
  24. calf — a young animal

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