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

Word bank: file · tear · wave · cold · arm · bear · mark · wake

  1. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  2. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  3. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  4. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  5. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  6. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  7. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  12. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  21. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  22. My father caught me by the ________________.
  23. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  24. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a document
  2. arm — a part of something
  3. wake — before a funeral
  4. wave — of the sea
  5. mark — a trace
  6. mark — to pay attention
  7. bear — to put up with
  8. file — a line of people
  9. tear — to rip
  10. cold — not warm
  11. wake — a trail
  12. wake — to stop sleeping
  13. tear — from crying
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. tear — from crying
  16. bear — the animal
  17. file — a tool
  18. mark — a grade
  19. cold — an illness
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. wave — a sudden rise
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. bear — the animal
  24. wave — with your hand

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