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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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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: chair · bank · spring · content · toast · tear

  1. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  4. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  11. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. bank — for money
  4. toast — a drink to someone
  5. chair — a leader
  6. spring — a coil
  7. tear — from crying
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. toast — bread
  11. bank — of a river
  12. spring — the season
  13. tear — from crying
  14. content — happy
  15. spring — of water
  16. toast — the most admired
  17. tear — to rip
  18. bank — for money

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