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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: file · mark · cold · deal · bowl · saw · bound · wake

  1. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  2. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  7. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  8. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  9. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  10. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  14. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  15. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  16. He works in a ________________ mill.
  17. She's very handy with a ________________.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  20. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  21. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  22. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  23. That was ________________ to happen.
  24. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — before a funeral
  2. file — a tool
  3. deal — to handle
  4. cold — not warm
  5. file — a line of people
  6. wake — to stop sleeping
  7. deal — a big deal
  8. deal — an agreement
  9. bowl — a dish
  10. mark — to pay attention
  11. file — a document
  12. cold — an illness
  13. mark — a grade
  14. wake — a trail
  15. bowl — a football final
  16. saw — the tool
  17. saw — the tool
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. bound — tied together
  20. mark — a trace
  21. saw — past of 'see'
  22. bound — obliged
  23. bound — certain
  24. bowl — to roll

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