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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: content · racket · wax · wind · bear · tear

  1. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  7. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  8. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  11. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  14. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  15. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. tear — from crying
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. wax — to grow
  5. content — happy
  6. bear — the animal
  7. wax — for sculpting
  8. wax — in the ear
  9. content — the amount
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. bear — the animal
  12. tear — to rip
  13. bear — to put up with
  14. racket — a loud noise
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. tear — from crying
  18. wind — moving air

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