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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: net · bear · shower · rush · snap · march · fan · fork

  1. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  2. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  3. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  10. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  11. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  12. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. That must've been a ________________.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  22. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  23. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  24. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — to put up with
  2. rush — hurry
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. net — for catching
  5. snap — to speak sharply
  6. march — music
  7. snap — to click
  8. shower — to wash
  9. bear — the animal
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. fan — to cool the air
  12. net — after costs
  13. net — in sport
  14. march — the month
  15. rush — to hurry
  16. shower — rain
  17. fork — to eat with
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. rush — a thrill
  20. march — the month
  21. fork — in a road
  22. snap — to snap out of it
  23. fork — a garden tool
  24. bear — the animal

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