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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: cold · fall · last · current · branch · file · ruler · rash

  1. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  2. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  3. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  4. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  5. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  6. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  11. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  12. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  13. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  21. Don't do anything ________________.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — on the skin
  2. fall — to drop
  3. current — electric
  4. branch — of a tree
  5. fall — the season
  6. current — happening now
  7. cold — an illness
  8. last — final
  9. file — a line of people
  10. rash — a series
  11. branch — of a bank
  12. current — of water
  13. ruler — a monarch
  14. last — finally
  15. fall — to drop
  16. last — to go on
  17. ruler — for measuring
  18. cold — not warm
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. branch — a division
  21. rash — hasty
  22. file — a document
  23. ruler — for measuring
  24. file — a tool

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