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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: stick · field · wake · court · file · fork · current · cold

  1. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  2. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  3. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  17. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  18. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  21. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — in a road
  2. current — happening now
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. file — a tool
  5. current — of water
  6. field — a subject
  7. field — farmland
  8. fork — to eat with
  9. file — a line of people
  10. file — a document
  11. cold — not warm
  12. cold — an illness
  13. court — for sport
  14. wake — a trail
  15. court — of law
  16. fork — a garden tool
  17. current — electric
  18. stick — to attach or keep to
  19. field — for sport
  20. wake — before a funeral
  21. wake — to stop sleeping
  22. court — of a king
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. cold — the Cold War

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