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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: chip · trunk · content · stand · bear · tear · march · spell

  1. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  5. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  8. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  12. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  15. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  16. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  17. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  18. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. How do you ________________ your surname?
  23. I can't ________________ this cold.
  24. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of an elephant
  2. march — music
  3. content — videos and posts
  4. chip — in a computer
  5. bear — the animal
  6. tear — from crying
  7. stand — on your feet
  8. spell — a short time
  9. tear — to rip
  10. march — the month
  11. chip — for betting
  12. trunk — of a car
  13. content — happy
  14. stand — for spectators
  15. bear — the animal
  16. spell — magic
  17. trunk — of a tree
  18. bear — to put up with
  19. content — the amount
  20. march — the month
  21. tear — from crying
  22. spell — letters
  23. stand — to bear
  24. chip — to eat

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