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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: chip · cabinet · tear · foot · present · content

  1. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  3. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  6. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  7. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  8. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  9. What do you think of the new ________________?
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  14. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  15. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  18. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. content — videos and posts
  3. present — a gift
  4. content — happy
  5. foot — the bottom
  6. present — the time now
  7. foot — a measure
  8. chip — to eat
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. tear — from crying
  11. foot — part of the body
  12. tear — to rip
  13. chip — for betting
  14. present — there
  15. chip — in a computer
  16. content — the amount
  17. cabinet — a cupboard
  18. cabinet — ministers

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