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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: cap · wax · bark · content · fall · board · key · tear

  1. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. This piece is in a major ________________.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  7. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  11. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  12. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  15. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  18. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  19. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  20. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  23. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  24. The moon will ________________ and wane.

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

Answer key

  1. key — for a lock
  2. content — happy
  3. key — in music
  4. tear — to rip
  5. tear — from crying
  6. fall — to drop
  7. cap — a lid
  8. bark — to shout
  9. content — the amount
  10. key — the most important part
  11. board — to get on
  12. bark — a dog's sound
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. wax — in the ear
  15. wax — for sculpting
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. board — a committee
  18. board — a flat piece
  19. cap — a hat
  20. cap — of ice
  21. tear — from crying
  22. fall — to drop
  23. fall — the season
  24. wax — to grow

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