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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: capital · trunk · game · wake · kick · file · bank · mate

  1. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  2. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  3. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  4. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  5. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  6. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  16. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  17. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  18. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. Have you found your soul ________________?
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  24. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — to breed
  2. bank — for money
  3. kick — with a leg
  4. wake — a trail
  5. mate — a friend
  6. trunk — of a tree
  7. game — wild animals
  8. trunk — of a car
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. file — a tool
  11. file — a line of people
  12. file — a document
  13. wake — before a funeral
  14. capital — a city
  15. kick — a thrill
  16. trunk — of an elephant
  17. kick — in football
  18. wake — to stop sleeping
  19. game — a match
  20. mate — a partner
  21. capital — money
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. bank — of a river
  24. bank — for money

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