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

Word bank: rash · cold · fork · shower · craft · leaves · file · mark

  1. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  3. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  4. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  5. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  12. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  13. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  14. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  15. Don't do anything ________________.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  18. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  23. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. fork — to eat with
  3. file — a document
  4. mark — a trace
  5. leaves — to go away
  6. shower — to wash
  7. rash — on the skin
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. rash — a series
  10. file — a line of people
  11. craft — a handicraft
  12. craft — a skill
  13. fork — a garden tool
  14. leaves — of a tree
  15. rash — hasty
  16. shower — rain
  17. mark — a grade
  18. leaves — lets stay
  19. cold — not warm
  20. mark — to pay attention
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. fork — in a road
  23. craft — boats
  24. file — a tool

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