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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 116 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: hand · game · plane · march · bark · fan · cold · trunk

  1. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  2. The ________________ took off on time.
  3. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  6. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  7. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  15. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — in cards
  2. plane — an aircraft
  3. plane — a tool
  4. hand — help
  5. fan — to cool the air
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. trunk — of a tree
  8. game — wild animals
  9. march — the month
  10. plane — in geometry
  11. cold — an illness
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. march — music
  14. trunk — of an elephant
  15. trunk — of a car
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. cold — not warm
  18. bark — of a tree
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. march — the month
  21. bark — to shout
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. game — a match
  24. game — a kind of play

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