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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: chair · tear · kid · key · content · stick · jam · spring

  1. This piece is in a major ________________.
  2. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  3. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  4. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  16. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  21. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. key — in music
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. jam — in traffic
  4. stick — to attach or keep to
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. jam — a tight spot
  7. chair — a leader
  8. content — happy
  9. tear — from crying
  10. chair — to sit on
  11. spring — of water
  12. spring — the season
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. tear — from crying
  15. key — for a lock
  16. jam — to spread on bread
  17. tear — to rip
  18. kid — to tease
  19. kid — child
  20. key — the most important part
  21. stick — a piece of wood
  22. content — the amount
  23. spring — a coil
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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