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

Word bank: ground · fall · bank · snap · wind · charge · fan · clip

  1. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  2. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  5. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  8. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  9. There's no middle ________________.
  10. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  11. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  17. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  18. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  19. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  20. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  24. The tickets are free of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. ground — crushed
  4. ground — the earth
  5. bank — of a river
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. snap — to speak sharply
  8. charge — electricity
  9. ground — a position
  10. fall — to drop
  11. bank — for money
  12. wind — moving air
  13. wind — moving air
  14. fall — to drop
  15. clip — for paper
  16. bank — for money
  17. snap — to click
  18. charge — in control
  19. snap — to snap out of it
  20. fall — the season
  21. clip — to cut
  22. clip — a video
  23. fan — to cool the air
  24. charge — a price

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