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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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Word bank
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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: bat · jam · tear · spring · content · chest · swing · mark

  1. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  8. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  9. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. David sat on the ________________.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  18. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. tear — from crying
  3. chest — a box
  4. chest — of your body
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. tear — to rip
  7. mark — a trace
  8. mark — a grade
  9. jam — a tight spot
  10. spring — the season
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. swing — to play on
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. jam — in traffic
  15. spring — a coil
  16. bat — the animal
  17. swing — music
  18. mark — to pay attention
  19. tear — from crying
  20. jam — to spread on bread
  21. content — happy
  22. swing — in golf
  23. chest — of your body
  24. spring — of water

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