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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: bat · tear · wind · object · bank · chest

  1. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. chest — of your body
  3. bank — for money
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. object — a thing
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. object — to protest
  8. tear — from crying
  9. bank — of a river
  10. wind — moving air
  11. bank — for money
  12. tear — to rip
  13. object — an aim
  14. wind — moving air
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. tear — from crying
  17. chest — a box
  18. chest — of your body

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