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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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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: deal · current · pass · fork · rule · cold · branch · track

  1. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  3. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  4. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  5. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  8. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  9. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  10. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  11. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  14. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  15. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  16. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  17. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  18. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  19. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  20. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  21. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  22. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  23. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  24. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. rule — government
  3. branch — of a bank
  4. current — of water
  5. pass — a permit
  6. cold — an illness
  7. deal — an agreement
  8. fork — a garden tool
  9. pass — to spend time
  10. track — a path
  11. fork — in a road
  12. cold — not warm
  13. track — to keep track
  14. branch — a division
  15. branch — of a tree
  16. current — electric
  17. pass — to succeed
  18. deal — a big deal
  19. track — a song
  20. rule — a law
  21. deal — to handle
  22. rule — to rule out
  23. fork — to eat with
  24. current — happening now

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