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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 · branch · clip · pass · fork · face · fan · track

  1. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  2. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  7. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  8. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  9. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  10. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  11. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  12. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  13. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  14. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  17. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  20. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  21. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  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. pass — to spend time
  3. clip — a video
  4. shower — rain
  5. shower — to wash
  6. face — part of the head
  7. track — to keep track
  8. fan — to cool the air
  9. fork — in a road
  10. branch — of a bank
  11. track — a song
  12. branch — of a tree
  13. fork — to eat with
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. pass — to succeed
  17. face — to confront
  18. clip — for paper
  19. pass — a permit
  20. track — a path
  21. face — to point toward
  22. clip — to cut
  23. fork — a garden tool
  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