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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  14. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  15. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  23. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  24. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — part of the body
  2. cold — not warm
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. tear — from crying
  5. fork — to eat with
  6. hand — in cards
  7. trunk — of a tree
  8. chest — of your body
  9. hand — help
  10. chest — a box
  11. bank — for money
  12. cold — an illness
  13. fork — in a road
  14. trunk — of a car
  15. chest — of your body
  16. file — a document
  17. file — a line of people
  18. bank — of a river
  19. file — a tool
  20. tear — to rip
  21. tear — from crying
  22. trunk — of an elephant
  23. fork — a garden tool
  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