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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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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: date · pass · mine · stock · race · row · file · fork

  1. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  3. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  4. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  5. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  8. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  14. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  15. Have you settled on a ________________?
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  19. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. The ________________ market has crashed.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. date — the fruit
  3. race — the arms race
  4. pass — to succeed
  5. pass — to spend time
  6. file — a tool
  7. stock — goods
  8. fork — to eat with
  9. race — a contest
  10. file — a line of people
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. fork — a garden tool
  14. fork — in a road
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. row — a line
  17. file — a document
  18. stock — a soup base
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. mine — for digging
  21. pass — a permit
  22. race — humankind
  23. stock — shares
  24. row — to paddle

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