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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: fall · mate · file · present · fork · bank

  1. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  2. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  3. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  4. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  5. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  6. Have you found your soul ________________?
  7. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  8. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  9. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  10. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  13. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  16. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. present — the time now
  3. present — there
  4. mate — to breed
  5. fork — in a road
  6. mate — a partner
  7. bank — for money
  8. mate — a friend
  9. fall — the season
  10. fork — to eat with
  11. file — a tool
  12. fork — a garden tool
  13. fall — to drop
  14. file — a document
  15. bank — for money
  16. present — a gift
  17. file — a line of people
  18. bank — of a river

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