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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: row · chest · snap · band · rash · file · fall · bank

  1. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  9. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  12. Don't do anything ________________.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  18. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  23. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  24. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. fall — the season
  4. band — a ring
  5. chest — a box
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. chest — of your body
  8. snap — to snap out of it
  9. bank — for money
  10. file — a line of people
  11. fall — to drop
  12. rash — hasty
  13. file — a document
  14. band — a music group
  15. row — to paddle
  16. file — a tool
  17. bank — for money
  18. snap — to click
  19. row — a line
  20. rash — on the skin
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. bank — of a river
  23. rash — a series
  24. fall — to drop

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