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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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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: mark · wound · foot · bowl · mate · last · club · file

  1. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  3. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  4. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  17. Have you found your soul ________________?
  18. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  19. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  20. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  21. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  22. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  23. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  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. last — final
  2. bowl — a football final
  3. club — a group
  4. file — a document
  5. file — a tool
  6. mark — to pay attention
  7. last — finally
  8. wound — an injury
  9. bowl — a dish
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. foot — the bottom
  12. file — a line of people
  13. mate — a friend
  14. wound — an injury
  15. last — to go on
  16. mate — to breed
  17. mate — a partner
  18. foot — a measure
  19. foot — part of the body
  20. club — for golf
  21. club — for dancing
  22. mark — a grade
  23. mark — a trace
  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