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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: rock · file · rest · land · chest · wound · bear · bank

  1. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  2. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  11. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  15. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  16. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  23. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  24. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. bank — for money
  3. chest — of your body
  4. file — a tool
  5. chest — of your body
  6. rest — what's left
  7. land — a country
  8. wound — an injury
  9. chest — a box
  10. bear — the animal
  11. bear — the animal
  12. land — ground
  13. wound — an injury
  14. rest — a break
  15. bank — for money
  16. rock — music
  17. file — a line of people
  18. file — a document
  19. land — to come down
  20. bear — to put up with
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. rock — a stone
  23. rock — to move gently
  24. bank — of a river

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