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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 116 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 · ball · bound · fan · wake · last · track · content

  1. False peace will not ________________.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  5. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  8. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  11. That was ________________ to happen.
  12. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  13. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  14. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  15. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  16. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  20. The King held a masked ________________.
  21. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  22. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  23. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. last — final
  3. file — a line of people
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. track — to keep track
  8. wake — a trail
  9. last — finally
  10. wake — to stop sleeping
  11. bound — certain
  12. ball — a great time
  13. fan — to cool the air
  14. wake — before a funeral
  15. bound — obliged
  16. track — a song
  17. content — the amount
  18. file — a tool
  19. track — a path
  20. ball — a dance
  21. ball — a round shape
  22. content — happy
  23. bound — tied together
  24. file — a document

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