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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: mate · game · file · current · kick · ground · tear · branch

  1. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  2. That was a fun ________________.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  7. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  8. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  12. There's no middle ________________.
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. Have you found your soul ________________?
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  19. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  20. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  21. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  24. Biology is a ________________ of science.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a bank
  2. game — a match
  3. tear — from crying
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. game — wild animals
  6. current — happening now
  7. branch — of a tree
  8. kick — a thrill
  9. ground — crushed
  10. file — a line of people
  11. current — of water
  12. ground — a position
  13. ground — the earth
  14. tear — from crying
  15. file — a document
  16. mate — a partner
  17. tear — to rip
  18. mate — a friend
  19. kick — in football
  20. current — electric
  21. kick — with a leg
  22. file — a tool
  23. mate — to breed
  24. branch — a division

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