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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: fork · rush · cold · branch · wound · mine · charge · saw

  1. He works in a ________________ mill.
  2. The tickets are free of ________________.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  5. That must've been a ________________.
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  13. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  14. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  15. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  16. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  17. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. She's very handy with a ________________.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  24. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. charge — a price
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. charge — electricity
  5. rush — a thrill
  6. wound — an injury
  7. mine — for digging
  8. charge — in control
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. wound — an injury
  12. fork — in a road
  13. rush — hurry
  14. saw — past of 'see'
  15. fork — to eat with
  16. fork — a garden tool
  17. branch — a division
  18. cold — an illness
  19. saw — the tool
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. rush — to hurry
  22. cold — not warm
  23. branch — of a bank
  24. branch — of a tree

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