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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: shower · snap · fork · cap · branch · race · track · fan

  1. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  2. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  5. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  10. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  11. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  15. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  16. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  17. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  18. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  19. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  20. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  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 — to cool the air
  2. track — a song
  3. shower — rain
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. cap — a hat
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. snap — to click
  8. race — humankind
  9. track — a path
  10. fork — to eat with
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. race — a contest
  14. cap — of ice
  15. branch — of a tree
  16. cap — a lid
  17. fork — a garden tool
  18. track — to keep track
  19. branch — of a bank
  20. fork — in a road
  21. race — the arms race
  22. snap — to snap out of it
  23. shower — to wash
  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