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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: land · cold · fork · row · pitcher · file · charge · current

  1. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  2. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  3. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  4. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  5. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  6. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  13. The tickets are free of ________________.
  14. He is an ace ________________.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  24. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — a garden tool
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. charge — in control
  4. row — to paddle
  5. current — happening now
  6. fork — to eat with
  7. row — a line
  8. current — electric
  9. cold — an illness
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. land — ground
  12. current — of water
  13. charge — a price
  14. pitcher — in baseball
  15. file — a document
  16. cold — not warm
  17. land — to come down
  18. land — a country
  19. charge — electricity
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. file — a line of people
  22. fork — in a road
  23. file — a tool
  24. pitcher — a jug

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