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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: last · fan · bat · content · tube · trunk · bowl · bank

  1. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  6. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  11. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  12. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  13. I'll be taking the ________________.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  20. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  21. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  22. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  23. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  24. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.

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

Answer key

  1. bank — of a river
  2. last — final
  3. bank — for money
  4. content — happy
  5. fan — to cool the air
  6. trunk — of a car
  7. last — to go on
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. content — the amount
  10. bowl — a dish
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. bowl — to roll
  13. tube — the underground
  14. bat — the animal
  15. last — finally
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. bank — for money
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. trunk — of a tree
  20. trunk — of an elephant
  21. tube — in a tire
  22. bowl — a football final
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. tube — a container

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