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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: fork · march · pit · race · stock · cold · can · file

  1. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  2. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  3. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  6. The ________________ market has crashed.
  7. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  8. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  13. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  17. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  18. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  19. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  24. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a hole
  2. file — a line of people
  3. file — a document
  4. race — a contest
  5. pit — in a race
  6. stock — shares
  7. fork — to eat with
  8. can — to be able to
  9. march — the month
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. file — a tool
  12. can — a tin
  13. stock — goods
  14. cold — an illness
  15. march — the month
  16. can — a tin
  17. fork — a garden tool
  18. fork — in a road
  19. race — humankind
  20. march — music
  21. stock — a soup base
  22. cold — not warm
  23. pit — a fruit stone
  24. race — the arms race

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