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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: wind · file · fork · branch · stock · board · staff · hand

  1. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  3. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  4. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  5. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  8. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  9. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  10. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  19. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  20. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  21. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  22. The ________________ market has crashed.
  23. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. stock — goods
  3. staff — a stick
  4. fork — a garden tool
  5. board — a flat piece
  6. file — a tool
  7. branch — of a bank
  8. board — to get on
  9. staff — employees
  10. fork — to eat with
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. file — a line of people
  13. branch — of a tree
  14. file — a document
  15. hand — in cards
  16. hand — help
  17. wind — moving air
  18. stock — a soup base
  19. branch — a division
  20. fork — in a road
  21. staff — employees
  22. stock — shares
  23. board — a committee
  24. wind — to turn a key

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