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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: chest · branch · hide · field · wind · file · current · pass

  1. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  2. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  3. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  4. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  17. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  22. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  23. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — to succeed
  2. branch — of a bank
  3. current — happening now
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. file — a line of people
  6. chest — a box
  7. field — for sport
  8. branch — of a tree
  9. field — a subject
  10. branch — a division
  11. chest — of your body
  12. pass — a permit
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. wind — moving air
  15. file — a document
  16. hide — animal skin
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. file — a tool
  19. chest — of your body
  20. wind — moving air
  21. current — of water
  22. pass — to spend time
  23. current — electric
  24. field — farmland

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