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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: chair · file · craft · ground · bank · racket · row · kid

  1. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  2. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  5. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  6. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  7. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  8. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  9. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  18. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  19. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  22. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  23. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  24. There's no middle ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. bank — for money
  3. row — a line
  4. ground — the earth
  5. chair — to sit on
  6. craft — a handicraft
  7. craft — boats
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. bank — for money
  10. file — a document
  11. ground — crushed
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. row — to paddle
  15. kid — child
  16. kid — to tease
  17. craft — a skill
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. bank — of a river
  20. file — a line of people
  21. row — a quarrel
  22. racket — a loud noise
  23. chair — a leader
  24. ground — a position

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