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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 · fork · can · current · dip · fall · march · stick

  1. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  2. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  3. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  4. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  5. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  8. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  11. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  12. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  13. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  14. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  15. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  16. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  17. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  18. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  19. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  20. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  21. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  22. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  23. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  24. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — to cool the air
  2. march — the month
  3. fork — to eat with
  4. can — a tin
  5. dip — to sink
  6. march — music
  7. fork — in a road
  8. dip — to dunk
  9. march — the month
  10. fall — the season
  11. fork — a garden tool
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. can — to be able to
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. current — of water
  18. can — a tin
  19. stick — to attach or keep to
  20. current — happening now
  21. fall — to drop
  22. dip — a sauce
  23. fall — to drop
  24. current — electric

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