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

  1. When are we going to ________________?
  2. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  3. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  4. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  5. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  6. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  7. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  12. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  13. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  14. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  19. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. fork — in a road
  3. branch — of a bank
  4. file — a document
  5. pit — a hole
  6. fork — a garden tool
  7. pit — a fruit stone
  8. file — a tool
  9. fork — to eat with
  10. land — ground
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. pit — in a race
  14. snap — to click
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. cell — a phone
  18. fan — to cool the air
  19. branch — of a tree
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. cell — in biology
  22. land — a country
  23. branch — a division
  24. file — a line of people

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