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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 116 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. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  3. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  4. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  12. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  13. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  14. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  21. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  22. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  23. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — to cool the air
  2. lean — thin
  3. branch — of a tree
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. file — a tool
  6. file — a line of people
  7. march — music
  8. march — the month
  9. rock — music
  10. wind — moving air
  11. lean — to rest against
  12. rock — a stone
  13. branch — of a bank
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. march — the month
  16. bass — the instrument
  17. wind — moving air
  18. branch — a division
  19. file — a document
  20. bass — the fish
  21. rock — to move gently
  22. bass — low music
  23. lean — to bend
  24. wind — to turn a key

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