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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: chair · bank · net · content · saw · rush · rule · tear

  1. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. That must've been a ________________.
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. She's very handy with a ________________.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  12. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  15. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. He works in a ________________ mill.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  22. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  23. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  24. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. rush — a thrill
  3. net — for catching
  4. saw — the tool
  5. chair — a leader
  6. rule — government
  7. tear — from crying
  8. bank — for money
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. rush — to hurry
  12. rule — a law
  13. content — happy
  14. rush — hurry
  15. rule — to rule out
  16. content — the amount
  17. bank — for money
  18. tear — from crying
  19. saw — the tool
  20. tear — to rip
  21. bank — of a river
  22. net — after costs
  23. net — in sport
  24. saw — past of 'see'

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