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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 · mark · file · cap · object · bound · kid

  1. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  5. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  6. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  7. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. That was ________________ to happen.
  10. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  11. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  12. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  13. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  14. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  15. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  20. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  21. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  22. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  24. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. object — an aim
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. club — for golf
  5. wake — before a funeral
  6. cap — a hat
  7. bound — obliged
  8. kid — child
  9. bound — certain
  10. mark — to pay attention
  11. club — for dancing
  12. object — a thing
  13. wake — to stop sleeping
  14. mark — a trace
  15. wake — a trail
  16. file — a document
  17. object — to protest
  18. file — a line of people
  19. club — a group
  20. cap — of ice
  21. mark — a grade
  22. bound — tied together
  23. file — a tool
  24. cap — a lid

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