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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 · bank · chip · bat · perch · hand · tear · coach

  1. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  11. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  12. Have you met the new head ________________?
  13. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  14. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  18. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  19. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. chip — for betting
  3. tear — to rip
  4. hand — help
  5. perch — the fish
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. bank — for money
  8. tear — from crying
  9. row — to paddle
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. chip — to eat
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. bank — for money
  15. hand — in cards
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. coach — pulled by horses
  18. bank — of a river
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. row — a line
  21. chip — in a computer
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. bat — the animal
  24. bat — in an idiom

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