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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 120 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: branch · race · file · craft · stand · land · chair · fork

  1. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  11. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  12. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  19. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  20. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  21. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  22. I can't ________________ this cold.
  23. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — to eat with
  2. land — ground
  3. race — a contest
  4. land — to come down
  5. fork — a garden tool
  6. file — a document
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. craft — boats
  9. land — a country
  10. craft — a skill
  11. craft — a handicraft
  12. stand — on your feet
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. chair — a leader
  15. file — a tool
  16. stand — for spectators
  17. race — humankind
  18. branch — of a tree
  19. race — the arms race
  20. branch — a division
  21. branch — of a bank
  22. stand — to bear
  23. fork — in a road
  24. file — a line of people

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