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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. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. It's one o'clock ________________.
  10. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  11. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  14. The ________________ market has crashed.
  15. The ________________ went through the wall.
  16. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  17. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  21. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  22. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. stock — a soup base
  3. content — happy
  4. capital — a city
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. tear — from crying
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. sharp — exactly
  10. nail — on a finger
  11. branch — of a tree
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. wax — in the ear
  14. stock — shares
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. branch — a division
  17. stock — goods
  18. content — the amount
  19. capital — money
  20. wax — to grow
  21. sharp — clever
  22. wax — for sculpting
  23. tear — to rip
  24. branch — of a bank

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