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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 120 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
468
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: game · kick · branch · bark · ground · fan · stand · snap

  1. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  3. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  4. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  5. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  6. There's no middle ________________.
  7. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  11. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  14. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  15. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. I can't ________________ this cold.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  20. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  21. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  24. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. fan — to cool the air
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. kick — with a leg
  5. kick — a thrill
  6. ground — a position
  7. branch — a division
  8. game — wild animals
  9. bark — to shout
  10. bark — a dog's sound
  11. snap — to snap out of it
  12. game — a match
  13. stand — for spectators
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. stand — on your feet
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. stand — to bear
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. branch — of a tree
  20. branch — of a bank
  21. snap — to speak sharply
  22. ground — the earth
  23. snap — to click
  24. kick — in football

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