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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: kid · trunk · pop · wake · hand · bank · court · file

  1. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  5. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  9. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  10. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. We're almost out of ________________.
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. You don't need to ________________ round.
  19. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  20. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  21. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  22. The ball is in your ________________.
  23. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  24. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of an elephant
  2. kid — to tease
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. file — a document
  5. wake — a trail
  6. hand — in cards
  7. hand — help
  8. wake — to stop sleeping
  9. pop — music
  10. bank — of a river
  11. file — a line of people
  12. kid — child
  13. court — of law
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. file — a tool
  16. pop — soda
  17. court — of a king
  18. pop — to visit
  19. bank — for money
  20. trunk — of a tree
  21. wake — before a funeral
  22. court — for sport
  23. trunk — of a car
  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