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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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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 · racket · kid · squash · band · tear · object · bank

  1. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  4. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  16. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  17. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  20. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  23. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  24. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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

Answer key

  1. bank — of a river
  2. band — a music group
  3. squash — the sport
  4. object — to protest
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. tear — to rip
  8. kid — to tease
  9. bank — for money
  10. band — a ring
  11. tear — from crying
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. object — an aim
  14. kid — child
  15. bank — for money
  16. squash — to crush
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. row — to paddle
  19. squash — the vegetable
  20. racket — a loud noise
  21. tear — from crying
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. object — a thing
  24. row — a line

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