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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: chip · kid · branch · present · bank · bark · row · lash

  1. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  4. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  8. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  9. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  10. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  15. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  18. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  23. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  24. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — to lash out
  2. kid — to tease
  3. present — a gift
  4. bank — for money
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. bank — of a river
  8. branch — of a tree
  9. bank — for money
  10. chip — in a computer
  11. kid — child
  12. chip — to eat
  13. row — to paddle
  14. lash — a whip stroke
  15. lash — an eyelash
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. chip — for betting
  18. present — the time now
  19. row — a line
  20. present — there
  21. bark — to shout
  22. branch — of a bank
  23. branch — a division
  24. bark — a dog's sound

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