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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 · tear · saw · bark · leaves · fine · degree · straw

  1. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. He works in a ________________ mill.
  14. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  15. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. She's very handy with a ________________.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  22. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — high quality
  2. content — happy
  3. fine — a penalty
  4. content — the amount
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. tear — from crying
  7. degree — from a university
  8. bark — a dog's sound
  9. degree — an amount
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. saw — past of 'see'
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. saw — the tool
  14. fine — all right
  15. leaves — to go away
  16. tear — from crying
  17. saw — the tool
  18. tear — to rip
  19. bark — to shout
  20. degree — temperature
  21. leaves — of a tree
  22. leaves — lets stay
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. bark — of a tree

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