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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 120 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. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. This piece is in a major ________________.
  5. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  8. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  11. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  14. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  15. The ________________ market has crashed.
  16. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  17. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  18. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  19. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  20. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. tear — from crying
  4. key — in music
  5. wax — to grow
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. bark — a dog's sound
  8. wake — before a funeral
  9. bark — to shout
  10. key — for a lock
  11. stock — goods
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. key — the most important part
  14. wax — in the ear
  15. stock — shares
  16. content — happy
  17. bark — of a tree
  18. wake — to stop sleeping
  19. wake — a trail
  20. wax — for sculpting
  21. tear — to rip
  22. content — the amount
  23. stock — a soup base
  24. content — videos and posts

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