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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. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  3. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  6. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. The ________________ market has crashed.
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  23. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. mouse — for a computer
  3. dip — to dunk
  4. tear — from crying
  5. bank — for money
  6. stock — a soup base
  7. spring — of water
  8. bank — of a river
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. stock — shares
  11. content — happy
  12. tear — to rip
  13. stock — goods
  14. clip — for paper
  15. mouse — the animal
  16. clip — a video
  17. mouse — the animal
  18. spring — the season
  19. spring — a coil
  20. bank — for money
  21. content — the amount
  22. dip — a sauce
  23. dip — to sink
  24. clip — to cut

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