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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.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The ________________ took off on time.
  2. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  3. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  6. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  9. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  10. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  11. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  12. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  13. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  14. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  15. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  16. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  19. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  20. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. plane — an aircraft
  2. trunk — of a car
  3. pit — in a race
  4. file — a tool
  5. branch — a division
  6. pit — a fruit stone
  7. band — a ring
  8. plane — a tool
  9. fork — a garden tool
  10. branch — of a bank
  11. trunk — of a tree
  12. fork — to eat with
  13. branch — of a tree
  14. current — electric
  15. plane — in geometry
  16. current — of water
  17. file — a document
  18. pit — a hole
  19. current — happening now
  20. fork — in a road
  21. band — a music group
  22. file — a line of people
  23. trunk — of an elephant
  24. band — a rubber band

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