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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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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: fork · wind · bound · bore · date · file · mine · mark

  1. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  2. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  3. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  4. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  5. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  8. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  12. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  13. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  14. That was ________________ to happen.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  17. Have you settled on a ________________?
  18. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — tied together
  2. mark — a trace
  3. bore — gave birth
  4. mark — to pay attention
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. wind — moving air
  7. bound — obliged
  8. date — the fruit
  9. wind — moving air
  10. mine — for digging
  11. bore — to tire
  12. bore — to drill
  13. fork — in a road
  14. bound — certain
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. mark — a grade
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. fork — to eat with
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. fork — a garden tool
  22. file — a line of people
  23. file — a document
  24. file — a tool

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