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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: file · current · bank · fork · cold · lash · ball · band

  1. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  2. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  5. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  6. The King held a masked ________________.
  7. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  10. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  14. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  15. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  16. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  17. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  18. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — to lash out
  2. current — of water
  3. cold — not warm
  4. bank — for money
  5. fork — a garden tool
  6. ball — a dance
  7. bank — for money
  8. file — a tool
  9. fork — to eat with
  10. current — happening now
  11. file — a document
  12. cold — an illness
  13. ball — a great time
  14. lash — a whip stroke
  15. ball — a round shape
  16. lash — an eyelash
  17. fork — in a road
  18. current — electric
  19. file — a line of people
  20. band — a ring
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. band — a music group
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. bank — of a river

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