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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  2. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  3. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  4. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  5. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  6. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  12. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  13. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  14. The ________________ took off on time.
  15. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  16. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  17. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  20. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  21. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  22. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  23. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  24. He keeps ________________ of his days.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — to cool the air
  2. plane — in geometry
  3. branch — of a bank
  4. snap — to speak sharply
  5. drill — the tool
  6. drill — a practice
  7. snap — to click
  8. track — a path
  9. bat — the animal
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. snap — to snap out of it
  12. leaves — of a tree
  13. plane — a tool
  14. plane — an aircraft
  15. branch — a division
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. leaves — to go away
  20. drill — army training
  21. track — a song
  22. branch — of a tree
  23. leaves — lets stay
  24. track — to keep track

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