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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. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  2. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. Have you found your soul ________________?
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  8. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  9. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  10. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  17. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  18. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  19. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  20. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  21. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  22. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  23. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  24. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. content — videos and posts
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. mate — a partner
  5. march — the month
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. pitch — completely
  8. pitch — a sales talk
  9. pitch — a sports field
  10. stick — to attach or keep to
  11. march — the month
  12. content — the amount
  13. squash — to crush
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. march — music
  16. mate — a friend
  17. squash — the vegetable
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. cap — of ice
  20. squash — the sport
  21. cap — a lid
  22. mate — to breed
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. content — happy

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