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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: toast · wake · mate · club · mine · wound · file · track

  1. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  2. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  3. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  4. Have you found your soul ________________?
  5. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  6. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  7. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  8. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  11. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  17. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  18. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  19. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  24. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. toast — the most admired
  3. track — a song
  4. mate — a partner
  5. wake — before a funeral
  6. club — for dancing
  7. wake — to stop sleeping
  8. wake — a trail
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. club — a group
  11. track — a path
  12. wound — an injury
  13. toast — a drink to someone
  14. file — a document
  15. mine — for digging
  16. toast — bread
  17. club — for golf
  18. mate — to breed
  19. track — to keep track
  20. file — a line of people
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. wound — an injury
  24. mate — a friend

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