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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: chest · band · fork · row · mouse · last · bowl · tear

  1. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  4. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  7. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  24. Should I buy a wireless ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. last — to go on
  3. row — to paddle
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. band — a ring
  6. mouse — the animal
  7. fork — in a road
  8. tear — from crying
  9. bowl — a football final
  10. chest — a box
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. last — finally
  13. fork — to eat with
  14. band — a music group
  15. bowl — to roll
  16. tear — to rip
  17. fork — a garden tool
  18. chest — of your body
  19. tear — from crying
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. row — a line
  22. last — final
  23. bowl — a dish
  24. mouse — for a computer

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