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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: cap · field · rash · file · branch · fork · wave · bat

  1. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  5. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  9. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  10. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  11. Don't do anything ________________.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  17. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  18. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  19. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  22. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  23. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — of the sea
  2. field — for sport
  3. file — a line of people
  4. rash — on the skin
  5. fork — in a road
  6. field — a subject
  7. field — farmland
  8. fork — a garden tool
  9. wave — a sudden rise
  10. cap — a hat
  11. rash — hasty
  12. file — a document
  13. rash — a series
  14. bat — the animal
  15. file — a tool
  16. cap — of ice
  17. branch — of a tree
  18. cap — a lid
  19. wave — with your hand
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. branch — a division
  22. branch — of a bank
  23. fork — to eat with
  24. bat — in an idiom

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