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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: club · wake · drill · cold · file · bound · arm · fine

  1. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  5. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  6. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  9. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  10. My father caught me by the ________________.
  11. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  12. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  13. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  14. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  15. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  18. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  21. That was ________________ to happen.
  22. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — army training
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. file — a tool
  4. wake — to stop sleeping
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. wake — before a funeral
  7. cold — not warm
  8. club — a group
  9. club — for dancing
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. arm — a part of something
  12. bound — obliged
  13. fine — a penalty
  14. bound — tied together
  15. fine — high quality
  16. drill — a practice
  17. wake — a trail
  18. drill — the tool
  19. file — a document
  20. club — for golf
  21. bound — certain
  22. fine — all right
  23. file — a line of people
  24. cold — an illness

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