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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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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: bay · file · fan · snap · branch · ground

  1. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  3. My mare is ________________ in color.
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  7. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  8. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  9. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  13. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  14. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. bay — a horse colour
  4. ground — a position
  5. file — a document
  6. fan — to cool the air
  7. branch — of a bank
  8. snap — to snap out of it
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. file — a line of people
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. bay — a part of the sea
  13. bay — to keep at bay
  14. branch — a division
  15. ground — the earth
  16. ground — crushed
  17. file — a tool
  18. branch — of a tree

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