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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: chest · bank · pass · rock · content · fall · field · court

  1. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  3. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  4. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  11. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  15. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  16. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. fall — the season
  3. pass — to succeed
  4. rock — to move gently
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. chest — a box
  7. court — for sport
  8. pass — to spend time
  9. content — the amount
  10. pass — a permit
  11. bank — for money
  12. chest — of your body
  13. field — a subject
  14. rock — a stone
  15. bank — for money
  16. content — happy
  17. fall — to drop
  18. court — of law
  19. field — farmland
  20. chest — of your body
  21. fall — to drop
  22. field — for sport
  23. bank — of a river
  24. court — of a king

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