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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: ball · press · content · safe · wind · capital · bank · tear

  1. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  4. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  5. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  6. Did you ________________ the button?
  7. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. The King held a masked ________________.
  10. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  11. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  19. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  23. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. tear — from crying
  3. bank — of a river
  4. bank — for money
  5. safe — a strongbox
  6. press — to push
  7. safe — out of danger
  8. content — the amount
  9. ball — a dance
  10. safe — out of danger
  11. bank — for money
  12. tear — from crying
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. content — happy
  15. wind — moving air
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. capital — money
  18. press — newspapers
  19. ball — a round shape
  20. wind — moving air
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. ball — a great time
  23. press — a publisher
  24. tear — to rip

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