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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 120 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: kick · trunk · bank · bat · leaves · march · fan · shower

  1. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  2. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  4. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  7. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  8. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  12. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  13. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  22. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  23. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  24. The elephant has a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — to cool the air
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. trunk — of a car
  4. kick — in football
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. bank — for money
  8. leaves — of a tree
  9. march — the month
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. leaves — lets stay
  12. kick — with a leg
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. bat — the animal
  15. shower — rain
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. bank — of a river
  18. march — music
  19. shower — to wash
  20. march — the month
  21. trunk — of a tree
  22. leaves — to go away
  23. bank — for money
  24. trunk — of an elephant

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