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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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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: mark · file · degree · wake · bound · spell · game · wind

  1. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  4. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  5. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  6. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. That was ________________ to happen.
  15. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  16. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. bound — tied together
  4. mark — a grade
  5. mark — to pay attention
  6. bound — obliged
  7. spell — letters
  8. wake — a trail
  9. spell — a short time
  10. file — a document
  11. file — a line of people
  12. mark — a trace
  13. degree — from a university
  14. bound — certain
  15. spell — magic
  16. wake — to stop sleeping
  17. degree — temperature
  18. game — a match
  19. degree — an amount
  20. file — a tool
  21. game — wild animals
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. wake — before a funeral
  24. wind — moving air

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