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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: rash · band · file · dip · bark · chest · row · land

  1. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  2. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  3. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. Don't do anything ________________.
  8. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  19. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. bark — to shout
  3. dip — a sauce
  4. land — to come down
  5. file — a line of people
  6. chest — a box
  7. rash — hasty
  8. bark — a dog's sound
  9. chest — of your body
  10. band — a ring
  11. land — a country
  12. rash — a series
  13. file — a document
  14. row — a line
  15. chest — of your body
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. dip — to sink
  18. bark — of a tree
  19. dip — to dunk
  20. band — a music group
  21. file — a tool
  22. rash — on the skin
  23. row — to paddle
  24. land — ground

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