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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: bat · plane · file · march · hide · arm · bank · perch

  1. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  2. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  5. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  9. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  10. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  17. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  18. The ________________ took off on time.
  19. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  20. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. My father caught me by the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — animal skin
  2. bank — for money
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. plane — in geometry
  5. bank — of a river
  6. file — a document
  7. file — a tool
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. bank — for money
  11. march — music
  12. file — a line of people
  13. arm — a part of something
  14. march — the month
  15. bat — the animal
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. plane — an aircraft
  19. perch — the fish
  20. plane — a tool
  21. march — the month
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. arm — part of the body

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