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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: bound · mate · cold · bank · foot · file · rest · pass

  1. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  2. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  3. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  6. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  7. Have you found your soul ________________?
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. That was ________________ to happen.
  10. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  11. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  12. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  13. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  14. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  15. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  16. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  17. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  18. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  19. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a friend
  2. foot — part of the body
  3. file — a document
  4. file — a tool
  5. bound — tied together
  6. pass — to succeed
  7. mate — a partner
  8. cold — not warm
  9. bound — certain
  10. bound — obliged
  11. mate — to breed
  12. rest — a break
  13. rest — what's left
  14. bank — for money
  15. foot — the bottom
  16. bank — of a river
  17. bank — for money
  18. pass — to spend time
  19. rest — what's left
  20. cold — an illness
  21. pass — a permit
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. foot — a measure
  24. file — a line of people

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