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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: ground · march · trunk · bank · fan · capital · dip · fork

  1. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  2. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  3. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  4. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  9. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  13. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  14. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  19. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  20. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  21. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.

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

Answer key

  1. bank — of a river
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. ground — the earth
  4. trunk — of a car
  5. march — the month
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. ground — crushed
  8. dip — to dunk
  9. trunk — of an elephant
  10. capital — money
  11. capital — a city
  12. bank — for money
  13. fork — to eat with
  14. dip — a sauce
  15. ground — a position
  16. fan — to cool the air
  17. march — the month
  18. bank — for money
  19. dip — to sink
  20. fork — in a road
  21. fork — a garden tool
  22. march — music
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. fan — a supporter

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