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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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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: fork · stand · can · race · cold · track · bear · file

  1. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  2. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  3. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  4. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  5. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  10. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  11. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  12. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  13. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  16. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  20. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  21. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  22. I can't ________________ this cold.
  23. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  24. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. race — humankind
  3. fork — in a road
  4. fork — to eat with
  5. stand — for spectators
  6. file — a document
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. race — the arms race
  9. track — to keep track
  10. bear — the animal
  11. can — a tin
  12. can — a tin
  13. track — a path
  14. cold — not warm
  15. track — a song
  16. bear — the animal
  17. cold — an illness
  18. file — a line of people
  19. bear — to put up with
  20. stand — on your feet
  21. can — to be able to
  22. stand — to bear
  23. race — a contest
  24. fork — a garden 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