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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 120 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: land · lash · bank · key · row · tear · hide · wound

  1. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  4. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  11. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  14. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  18. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. This piece is in a major ________________.
  21. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. land — to come down
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. bank — for money
  5. wound — an injury
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. land — ground
  8. lash — an eyelash
  9. tear — from crying
  10. hide — animal skin
  11. key — the most important part
  12. row — a line
  13. bank — for money
  14. lash — to lash out
  15. tear — to rip
  16. land — a country
  17. lash — a whip stroke
  18. key — for a lock
  19. wound — an injury
  20. key — in music
  21. hide — to keep secret
  22. tear — from crying
  23. bank — of a river
  24. row — to paddle

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