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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: bark · hand · plane · bank · land · hide · kid · jam

  1. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. The ________________ took off on time.
  4. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  8. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  9. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  10. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  20. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  21. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — of a tree
  2. land — a country
  3. plane — an aircraft
  4. hide — animal skin
  5. hand — help
  6. land — ground
  7. plane — a tool
  8. bank — for money
  9. bank — for money
  10. bark — a dog's sound
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. hand — in cards
  13. jam — a tight spot
  14. bark — to shout
  15. jam — to spread on bread
  16. land — to come down
  17. jam — in traffic
  18. kid — to tease
  19. plane — in geometry
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. hide — to keep secret
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. kid — child
  24. bank — of a river

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