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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 120 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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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: cell · bark · craft · mug · tear · chest · land · bass

  1. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. Where did you ________________ them?
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  14. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  15. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  16. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  20. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  21. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in biology
  2. tear — from crying
  3. mug — to rob
  4. land — to come down
  5. craft — a skill
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. bark — a dog's sound
  8. chest — of your body
  9. chest — a box
  10. land — a country
  11. craft — boats
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. craft — a handicraft
  14. mug — a face
  15. bass — the fish
  16. mug — a cup
  17. tear — to rip
  18. chest — of your body
  19. bass — the instrument
  20. bark — to shout
  21. bass — low music
  22. tear — from crying
  23. land — ground
  24. cell — a phone

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