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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: season · content · band · fan · bat · can · chest · bank

  1. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  10. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  19. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  20. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  24. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. chest — of your body
  3. season — of the year
  4. band — a ring
  5. bank — for money
  6. content — happy
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. chest — of your body
  9. bank — for money
  10. can — to be able to
  11. band — a music group
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. content — the amount
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. chest — a box
  16. season — in sport
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. can — a tin
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. fan — to cool the air
  21. bat — the animal
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. bank — of a river
  24. can — a tin

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