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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: fall · branch · cold · fine · file · pass · clip · roll

  1. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  4. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  5. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  6. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  9. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  10. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  11. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  12. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  15. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  16. We're on a ________________ here.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — the season
  2. cold — an illness
  3. fine — all right
  4. pass — to succeed
  5. pass — to spend time
  6. branch — of a tree
  7. file — a tool
  8. branch — of a bank
  9. roll — a list
  10. fall — to drop
  11. branch — a division
  12. roll — a cake
  13. clip — a video
  14. pass — a permit
  15. fine — high quality
  16. roll — on a roll
  17. cold — not warm
  18. fine — a penalty
  19. clip — for paper
  20. file — a document
  21. file — a line of people
  22. fall — to drop
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. clip — to cut

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