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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: bank · safe · game · swing · tear · capital · chair · content

  1. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  4. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  8. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  9. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. David sat on the ________________.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. content — the amount
  3. bank — of a river
  4. swing — music
  5. content — happy
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. safe — out of danger
  8. bank — for money
  9. safe — out of danger
  10. tear — to rip
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. chair — to sit on
  13. tear — from crying
  14. swing — in golf
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. swing — to play on
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. game — a match
  19. capital — a city
  20. chair — a leader
  21. capital — money
  22. safe — a strongbox
  23. tear — from crying
  24. bank — for money

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