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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 120 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: fall · chip · tear · band · branch · fork · trunk · file

  1. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  2. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  3. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  6. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  7. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  8. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  9. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  10. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  13. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  16. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  21. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  22. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — to eat with
  2. tear — to rip
  3. fall — the season
  4. band — a music group
  5. branch — a division
  6. branch — of a bank
  7. trunk — of an elephant
  8. trunk — of a tree
  9. chip — for betting
  10. fall — to drop
  11. file — a line of people
  12. fork — a garden tool
  13. trunk — of a car
  14. file — a document
  15. fork — in a road
  16. chip — to eat
  17. file — a tool
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. band — a ring
  20. fall — to drop
  21. chip — in a computer
  22. branch — of a tree
  23. tear — from crying
  24. tear — from crying

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