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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 · tear · kid · key · content · stick

  1. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  16. This piece is in a major ________________.
  17. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. kid — child
  3. content — videos and posts
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. key — the most important part
  6. tear — to rip
  7. chair — a leader
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. tear — from crying
  13. content — happy
  14. kid — to tease
  15. key — for a lock
  16. key — in music
  17. stick — to attach or keep to
  18. tear — from crying

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