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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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Word bank
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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: bank · arm · hand · mate · clip · fan · cabinet · bark

  1. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  2. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. What do you think of the new ________________?
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  8. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. My father caught me by the ________________.
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  19. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  20. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  21. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  22. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  23. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  24. Can you turn the ________________ on?

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

Answer key

  1. bank — for money
  2. mate — a partner
  3. mate — to breed
  4. clip — a video
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. bank — of a river
  9. hand — in cards
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. hand — help
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. clip — to cut
  16. clip — for paper
  17. arm — a part of something
  18. bark — to shout
  19. bark — a dog's sound
  20. bank — for money
  21. cabinet — a cupboard
  22. mate — a friend
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. fan — to cool the air

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