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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: branch · ball · land · track · file · fan · lean · march

  1. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  2. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  4. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  5. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  10. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  11. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  12. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  13. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  16. The King held a masked ________________.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  19. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  24. Biology is a ________________ of science.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. file — a tool
  3. lean — to rest against
  4. file — a document
  5. ball — a great time
  6. file — a line of people
  7. track — to keep track
  8. land — a country
  9. track — a song
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. lean — thin
  12. ball — a round shape
  13. fan — to cool the air
  14. land — ground
  15. branch — of a bank
  16. ball — a dance
  17. march — the month
  18. track — a path
  19. branch — of a tree
  20. march — the month
  21. land — to come down
  22. march — music
  23. lean — to bend
  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