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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: hand · stick · root · toast · mate · row · chest · bank

  1. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. Have you found your soul ________________?
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  10. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  17. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  22. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  23. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  24. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — bread
  2. hand — in cards
  3. root — of a plant
  4. hand — help
  5. mate — a partner
  6. chest — a box
  7. bank — of a river
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. mate — a friend
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. chest — of your body
  12. stick — to attach or keep to
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. row — a line
  16. toast — the most admired
  17. root — of a word
  18. chest — of your body
  19. bank — for money
  20. row — to paddle
  21. toast — a drink to someone
  22. root — the cause
  23. bank — for money
  24. mate — to breed

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