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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  5. Have you found your soul ________________?
  6. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  7. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  8. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  9. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  10. What do you think of the new ________________?
  11. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  14. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  20. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  21. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  22. Where did you ________________ them?
  23. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  24. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — clever
  2. cold — not warm
  3. cold — an illness
  4. bass — the fish
  5. mate — a partner
  6. wake — a trail
  7. mate — a friend
  8. mate — to breed
  9. mug — a cup
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. bass — the instrument
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. sharp — with an edge
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. mug — a face
  20. bass — low music
  21. wake — to stop sleeping
  22. mug — to rob
  23. cabinet — a cupboard
  24. wake — before a funeral

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