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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 120 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: field · fall · branch · content · wave · file · pass · land

  1. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  10. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  11. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  16. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  17. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  20. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  21. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a line of people
  2. field — farmland
  3. branch — of a bank
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. content — happy
  6. field — a subject
  7. wave — a sudden rise
  8. land — ground
  9. fall — to drop
  10. pass — to succeed
  11. fall — the season
  12. field — for sport
  13. content — the amount
  14. file — a tool
  15. pass — to spend time
  16. branch — a division
  17. wave — of the sea
  18. file — a document
  19. branch — of a tree
  20. fall — to drop
  21. pass — a permit
  22. land — to come down
  23. wave — with your hand
  24. land — a country

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