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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: file · kick · plane · bat · march · trunk · game · bank

  1. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  4. The ________________ took off on time.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  8. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  9. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  15. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  16. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.

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

Answer key

  1. plane — a tool
  2. game — wild animals
  3. trunk — of a car
  4. plane — an aircraft
  5. game — a match
  6. march — the month
  7. kick — a thrill
  8. bank — of a river
  9. plane — in geometry
  10. bat — the animal
  11. march — the month
  12. trunk — of an elephant
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. kick — with a leg
  15. bank — for money
  16. kick — in football
  17. file — a line of people
  18. march — music
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. file — a document
  21. file — a tool
  22. trunk — of a tree
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. bank — for money

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