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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. That was ________________ to happen.
  2. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  3. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  4. Have you found your soul ________________?
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  7. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  8. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  9. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  12. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  15. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  18. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  19. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  20. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  21. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — certain
  2. mark — a trace
  3. mark — to pay attention
  4. mate — a partner
  5. snap — to click
  6. track — to keep track
  7. wake — to stop sleeping
  8. snap — to snap out of it
  9. snap — to speak sharply
  10. file — a tool
  11. mark — a grade
  12. mate — to breed
  13. race — the arms race
  14. bound — tied together
  15. wake — a trail
  16. race — a contest
  17. mate — a friend
  18. track — a song
  19. bound — obliged
  20. wake — before a funeral
  21. track — a path
  22. race — humankind
  23. file — a line of people
  24. file — a document

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