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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 116 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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  3. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  4. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. That was ________________ to happen.
  8. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  9. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  10. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  15. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  18. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  19. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  20. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  21. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. branch — a division
  3. object — to protest
  4. bound — tied together
  5. tear — from crying
  6. tear — from crying
  7. bound — certain
  8. wax — in the ear
  9. object — an aim
  10. branch — of a bank
  11. wind — moving air
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. branch — of a tree
  15. perch — the fish
  16. tear — to rip
  17. wax — to grow
  18. bound — obliged
  19. content — happy
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. object — a thing
  22. content — the amount
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. wind — moving air

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