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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: trunk · rush · ground · march · scale · mine · fork · bank

  1. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  2. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  3. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  4. That must've been a ________________.
  5. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  11. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  16. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  17. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  21. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  22. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  23. There's no middle ________________.
  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. bank — for money
  2. fork — to eat with
  3. trunk — of a car
  4. rush — a thrill
  5. trunk — of an elephant
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. trunk — of a tree
  8. mine — for digging
  9. ground — crushed
  10. rush — to hurry
  11. rush — hurry
  12. ground — the earth
  13. march — music
  14. march — the month
  15. bank — of a river
  16. fork — a garden tool
  17. scale — for weighing
  18. march — the month
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. scale — in music
  21. scale — size or range
  22. fork — in a road
  23. ground — a position
  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