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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.

Words on the sheet
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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 · degree · bark · clip · wax · fan · wind · straw

  1. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  2. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  12. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. clip — a video
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. bark — to shout
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. degree — an amount
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. wax — in the ear
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. clip — to cut
  15. content — happy
  16. wax — to grow
  17. degree — temperature
  18. content — the amount
  19. fan — to cool the air
  20. degree — from a university
  21. wind — moving air
  22. wax — for sculpting
  23. wind — moving air
  24. clip — for paper

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