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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: board · bat · field · file · bank · arm · wound · fan

  1. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. My father caught me by the ________________.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  18. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  19. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  22. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  23. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. field — for sport
  3. bank — for money
  4. bat — the animal
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. file — a line of people
  8. board — a committee
  9. file — a document
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. file — a tool
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. bank — of a river
  15. wound — an injury
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. fan — to cool the air
  18. board — a flat piece
  19. arm — a part of something
  20. field — a subject
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. bank — for money
  23. board — to get on
  24. field — farmland

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