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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: content · chair · tear · current · kick · band

  1. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  16. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. content — the amount
  3. current — happening now
  4. tear — from crying
  5. kick — in football
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. chair — a leader
  8. tear — to rip
  9. band — a ring
  10. kick — a thrill
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. band — a music group
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. current — of water
  16. kick — with a leg
  17. tear — from crying
  18. current — electric

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