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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: tear · kick · spell · row · bank · scale · mouse · rest

  1. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  3. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  4. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  8. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  13. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  14. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  15. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  16. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  17. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  20. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  21. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  22. How do you ________________ your surname?
  23. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  24. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. mouse — the animal
  3. kick — with a leg
  4. scale — in music
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. row — a line
  7. rest — what's left
  8. mouse — for a computer
  9. spell — a short time
  10. tear — from crying
  11. tear — to rip
  12. scale — size or range
  13. bank — of a river
  14. kick — a thrill
  15. bank — for money
  16. spell — magic
  17. mouse — the animal
  18. row — to paddle
  19. scale — for weighing
  20. rest — what's left
  21. rest — a break
  22. spell — letters
  23. kick — in football
  24. bank — for money

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