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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: bark · straw · file · bank · spell · chest · degree · rush

  1. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  2. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. That must've been a ________________.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. How do you ________________ your surname?
  10. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  24. You shouldn't ________________ things.

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

Answer key

  1. bank — of a river
  2. file — a line of people
  3. degree — an amount
  4. bark — to shout
  5. degree — temperature
  6. rush — a thrill
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. spell — letters
  10. spell — magic
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. chest — of your body
  13. chest — a box
  14. file — a document
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. degree — from a university
  17. bank — for money
  18. spell — a short time
  19. chest — of your body
  20. rush — hurry
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. file — a tool
  23. bank — for money
  24. rush — to hurry

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