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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: tear · hand · bank · bark · chair · file · mine · row

  1. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  16. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  17. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  24. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. tear — from crying
  3. bank — for money
  4. file — a tool
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. row — to paddle
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. file — a line of people
  9. chair — a leader
  10. hand — in cards
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. file — a document
  15. chair — a professorship
  16. bank — of a river
  17. bank — for money
  18. tear — from crying
  19. row — a line
  20. hand — help
  21. bark — to shout
  22. tear — to rip
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  24. chair — to sit on

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