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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: chest · fan · leaves · bank · bat · fall · file · wake

  1. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  2. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  3. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  13. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  16. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  20. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  21. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — of a tree
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. fall — the season
  4. file — a tool
  5. bank — of a river
  6. chest — of your body
  7. bat — the animal
  8. wake — to stop sleeping
  9. chest — of your body
  10. wake — a trail
  11. file — a line of people
  12. fan — to cool the air
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. leaves — to go away
  16. leaves — lets stay
  17. fall — to drop
  18. file — a document
  19. wake — before a funeral
  20. fall — to drop
  21. bank — for money
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. chest — a box
  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