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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 124 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. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  10. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  16. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  17. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  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. wind — to turn a key
  2. content — happy
  3. wax — to grow
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. content — the amount
  6. clip — to cut
  7. board — to get on
  8. clip — a video
  9. leaves — to go away
  10. board — a committee
  11. clip — for paper
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. tear — to rip
  14. wind — moving air
  15. leaves — of a tree
  16. wax — in the ear
  17. board — a flat piece
  18. mine — for digging
  19. tear — from crying
  20. tear — from crying
  21. leaves — lets stay
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. wind — moving air
  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