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

  1. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  2. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  3. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. It's one o'clock ________________.
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. David sat on the ________________.
  12. I'll be taking the ________________.
  13. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  14. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  17. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  18. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  19. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  20. Have you found your soul ________________?
  21. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  22. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  23. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  24. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a friend
  2. sharp — with an edge
  3. cap — of ice
  4. last — finally
  5. last — final
  6. ruler — a monarch
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. wind — moving air
  9. sharp — exactly
  10. last — to go on
  11. swing — to play on
  12. tube — the underground
  13. cap — a hat
  14. tube — a container
  15. wind — moving air
  16. ruler — for measuring
  17. swing — music
  18. ruler — for measuring
  19. sharp — clever
  20. mate — a partner
  21. mate — to breed
  22. cap — a lid
  23. tube — in a tire
  24. swing — in golf

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