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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: bank · club · season · pit · fork · file · wound · roll

  1. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  2. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  3. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  4. Did you ________________ the meat?
  5. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  6. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  9. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  10. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  11. We're on a ________________ here.
  12. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  13. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  14. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  19. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  24. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — in a race
  2. season — in sport
  3. club — for golf
  4. season — to add flavour
  5. season — of the year
  6. fork — a garden tool
  7. wound — an injury
  8. roll — a cake
  9. pit — a hole
  10. club — for dancing
  11. roll — on a roll
  12. pit — a fruit stone
  13. bank — for money
  14. bank — for money
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. bank — of a river
  17. wound — an injury
  18. fork — to eat with
  19. club — a group
  20. file — a document
  21. file — a line of people
  22. roll — a list
  23. file — a tool
  24. fork — in a road

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