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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. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  5. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  8. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  9. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  19. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  20. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  21. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  22. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  23. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  24. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. club — for dancing
  3. content — the amount
  4. club — for golf
  5. club — a group
  6. tear — from crying
  7. wake — to stop sleeping
  8. object — to protest
  9. snap — to speak sharply
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. bark — to shout
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. wake — a trail
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. tear — to rip
  16. wax — to grow
  17. tear — from crying
  18. snap — to snap out of it
  19. wake — before a funeral
  20. wax — in the ear
  21. snap — to click
  22. wax — for sculpting
  23. object — a thing
  24. object — an aim

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