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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 120 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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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: wax · snap · degree · tear · clip · craft · rock · content

  1. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  2. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  3. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  4. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  13. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  16. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  17. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to speak sharply
  2. content — videos and posts
  3. craft — boats
  4. rock — to move gently
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. craft — a skill
  7. tear — from crying
  8. clip — for paper
  9. degree — temperature
  10. degree — from a university
  11. clip — to cut
  12. wax — to grow
  13. snap — to snap out of it
  14. content — happy
  15. snap — to click
  16. wax — for sculpting
  17. rock — a stone
  18. tear — to rip
  19. tear — from crying
  20. rock — music
  21. content — the amount
  22. craft — a handicraft
  23. degree — an amount
  24. clip — a video

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