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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: board · row · chest · racket · tear · temple · bass · bark

  1. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  5. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  6. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  7. When was this ________________ built?
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  10. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  22. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  23. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. temple — side of the head
  5. bass — the instrument
  6. row — to paddle
  7. temple — a place of worship
  8. chest — of your body
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. tear — from crying
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. board — to get on
  14. bark — to shout
  15. board — a committee
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. bass — the fish
  18. tear — to rip
  19. board — a flat piece
  20. chest — of your body
  21. racket — a loud noise
  22. row — a line
  23. bass — low music
  24. chest — a box

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