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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. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  2. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  3. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  4. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  7. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  8. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  16. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  17. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  18. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  19. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  24. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — in a road
  2. race — the arms race
  3. file — a document
  4. current — electric
  5. land — ground
  6. branch — of a tree
  7. branch — of a bank
  8. fork — a garden tool
  9. land — a country
  10. land — to come down
  11. race — a contest
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. fork — to eat with
  14. file — a line of people
  15. current — of water
  16. mark — a grade
  17. branch — a division
  18. mark — a trace
  19. mark — to pay attention
  20. cold — not warm
  21. cold — an illness
  22. file — a tool
  23. race — humankind
  24. current — happening now

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