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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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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: current · snap · race · branch · leaves · fall · swing · file

  1. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  5. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  9. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  10. David sat on the ________________.
  11. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  12. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  13. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  14. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  19. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  22. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  23. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  24. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.

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

Answer key

  1. race — humankind
  2. snap — to click
  3. file — a line of people
  4. fall — to drop
  5. current — happening now
  6. file — a document
  7. file — a tool
  8. leaves — lets stay
  9. fall — to drop
  10. swing — to play on
  11. swing — music
  12. branch — of a tree
  13. current — electric
  14. leaves — of a tree
  15. race — a contest
  16. branch — a division
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. current — of water
  19. snap — to snap out of it
  20. race — the arms race
  21. leaves — to go away
  22. fall — the season
  23. swing — in golf
  24. branch — of a bank

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