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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: chest · clip · content · roll · mate · race · leaves · bank

  1. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  14. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  15. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. We're on a ________________ here.
  18. Have you found your soul ________________?
  19. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  20. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  21. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  22. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  23. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. chest — a box
  3. clip — to cut
  4. content — happy
  5. bank — for money
  6. clip — a video
  7. race — a contest
  8. chest — of your body
  9. race — the arms race
  10. leaves — to go away
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. chest — of your body
  13. mate — to breed
  14. bank — of a river
  15. roll — a cake
  16. race — humankind
  17. roll — on a roll
  18. mate — a partner
  19. leaves — of a tree
  20. leaves — lets stay
  21. roll — a list
  22. mate — a friend
  23. bank — for money
  24. content — the amount

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