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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: last · bound · mark · cold · wake · lie · hand · pop

  1. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  3. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  4. You don't need to ________________ round.
  5. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  11. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  17. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  18. We're almost out of ________________.
  19. That was ________________ to happen.
  20. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  21. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. mark — a grade
  3. wake — to stop sleeping
  4. pop — to visit
  5. bound — tied together
  6. last — finally
  7. cold — not warm
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. last — to go on
  10. pop — music
  11. mark — to pay attention
  12. wake — a trail
  13. lie — to recline
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. cold — an illness
  16. bound — obliged
  17. mark — a trace
  18. pop — soda
  19. bound — certain
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. wake — before a funeral
  22. last — final
  23. hand — in cards
  24. lie — an untruth

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