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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: bat · tear · wind · object · bank · chest · coach · chip

  1. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  5. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  8. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  12. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  15. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  16. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. Have you met the new head ________________?
  24. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. wind — moving air
  4. object — a thing
  5. chip — in a computer
  6. chest — of your body
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. coach — pulled by horses
  9. bat — the animal
  10. tear — to rip
  11. object — an aim
  12. bank — for money
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. chip — to eat
  15. bank — of a river
  16. bank — for money
  17. chest — of your body
  18. tear — from crying
  19. chest — a box
  20. object — to protest
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. wind — moving air
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. chip — for betting

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