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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 · spell · current · shower · ground · snap · track · row

  1. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  2. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  3. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  4. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  5. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  6. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  7. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. How do you ________________ your surname?
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  17. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  18. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  19. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  20. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  23. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  24. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — to cool the air
  2. track — a path
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. row — to paddle
  5. track — to keep track
  6. current — electric
  7. snap — to speak sharply
  8. ground — the earth
  9. snap — to click
  10. ground — a position
  11. spell — a short time
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. shower — to wash
  14. spell — letters
  15. shower — rain
  16. track — a song
  17. ground — crushed
  18. current — of water
  19. spell — magic
  20. snap — to snap out of it
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. row — a line
  23. current — happening now
  24. fan — a supporter

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