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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: chest · dip · board · march · content · clip · wax · straw

  1. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  18. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  22. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  23. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. board — to get on
  2. clip — to cut
  3. board — a flat piece
  4. march — the month
  5. board — a committee
  6. chest — a box
  7. dip — to dunk
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. chest — of your body
  11. march — the month
  12. clip — for paper
  13. content — the amount
  14. clip — a video
  15. wax — in the ear
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. dip — a sauce
  18. wax — to grow
  19. march — music
  20. chest — of your body
  21. wax — for sculpting
  22. dip — to sink
  23. content — happy
  24. straw — a straw man

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