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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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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: bank · bat · chest · row · straw · band · hand · suit

  1. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  7. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. When will it ________________ you to start?
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. bank — of a river
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. chest — of your body
  5. chest — of your body
  6. suit — in cards
  7. row — to paddle
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. row — a line
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. chest — a box
  12. bat — the animal
  13. bank — for money
  14. band — a ring
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. bank — for money
  18. hand — in cards
  19. suit — clothes
  20. band — a music group
  21. hand — help
  22. suit — to fit
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. straw — a straw man

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