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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. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  8. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  9. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  10. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  11. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  12. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  17. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  22. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  23. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  24. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. tear — from crying
  3. spell — letters
  4. wax — in the ear
  5. shower — to wash
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. face — to confront
  8. face — to point toward
  9. dip — to sink
  10. wax — to grow
  11. wax — for sculpting
  12. dip — a sauce
  13. content — the amount
  14. face — part of the head
  15. content — happy
  16. spell — a short time
  17. bank — for money
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. shower — rain
  20. tear — to rip
  21. spell — magic
  22. bank — of a river
  23. bank — for money
  24. dip — to dunk

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