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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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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: fan · file · cue · toast · sharp · branch · rash · shower

  1. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  2. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  4. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  8. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  9. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  10. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. It's one o'clock ________________.
  13. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  14. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  17. Don't do anything ________________.
  18. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  19. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  20. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  21. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  24. Biology is a ________________ of science.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a signal
  2. file — a tool
  3. rash — a series
  4. toast — bread
  5. shower — rain
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. cue — a hint
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. cue — for pool
  10. toast — the most admired
  11. file — a line of people
  12. sharp — exactly
  13. toast — a drink to someone
  14. fan — to cool the air
  15. shower — to wash
  16. rash — on the skin
  17. rash — hasty
  18. sharp — clever
  19. sharp — with an edge
  20. branch — of a bank
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. file — a document
  23. branch — of a tree
  24. branch — a division

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