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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: tear · ground · capital · toast · bank · content · press · fork

  1. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  4. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  5. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  11. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  17. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  18. Did you ________________ the button?
  19. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  24. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — bread
  2. ground — crushed
  3. toast — the most admired
  4. bank — of a river
  5. bank — for money
  6. tear — to rip
  7. fork — in a road
  8. capital — money
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. fork — a garden tool
  11. toast — a drink to someone
  12. capital — a city
  13. ground — the earth
  14. fork — to eat with
  15. ground — a position
  16. press — a publisher
  17. content — happy
  18. press — to push
  19. bank — for money
  20. tear — from crying
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. content — the amount
  23. press — newspapers
  24. tear — from crying

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