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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.

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: scale · kid · roll · bark · wound · row · hand · bank

  1. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  2. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  3. We're on a ________________ here.
  4. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  5. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  11. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  19. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. row — to paddle
  2. bank — for money
  3. roll — on a roll
  4. scale — in music
  5. bank — for money
  6. kid — child
  7. bank — of a river
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. wound — an injury
  10. bark — a dog's sound
  11. roll — a list
  12. hand — in cards
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. row — a line
  15. roll — a cake
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. kid — to tease
  18. scale — size or range
  19. scale — for weighing
  20. wound — an injury
  21. bark — to shout
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. hand — help
  24. hand — part of the body

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