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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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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: current · file · branch · fall · racket · tear · patient · row

  1. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  2. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  3. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  4. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  5. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  8. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  9. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  10. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  21. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  24. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.

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

Answer key

  1. current — electric
  2. branch — of a tree
  3. fall — to drop
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. current — of water
  6. tear — from crying
  7. fall — the season
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. current — happening now
  10. racket — a loud noise
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. branch — of a bank
  13. tear — from crying
  14. row — a line
  15. file — a tool
  16. file — a document
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. file — a line of people
  19. tear — to rip
  20. fall — to drop
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. row — to paddle
  23. branch — a division
  24. patient — calm and waiting

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