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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: chest · bat · land · bank · perch · foot · firm · drill

  1. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  2. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  9. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  10. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  14. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  15. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  20. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  21. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. bank — for money
  2. firm — a company
  3. bat — the animal
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. chest — a box
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. land — ground
  8. firm — decided
  9. drill — the tool
  10. drill — army training
  11. land — to come down
  12. land — a country
  13. bank — of a river
  14. firm — steady
  15. foot — part of the body
  16. drill — a practice
  17. perch — the fish
  18. chest — of your body
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. foot — a measure
  21. foot — the bottom
  22. chest — of your body
  23. bank — for money
  24. bat — for baseball

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