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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. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  2. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  3. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  8. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  9. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  12. Have you found your soul ________________?
  13. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  17. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  21. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  22. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — to breed
  2. file — a line of people
  3. dip — to sink
  4. wound — an injury
  5. bass — the fish
  6. spring — a coil
  7. track — a song
  8. cap — of ice
  9. bass — the instrument
  10. spring — the season
  11. cap — a hat
  12. mate — a partner
  13. dip — a sauce
  14. wound — an injury
  15. file — a tool
  16. mate — a friend
  17. track — a path
  18. file — a document
  19. spring — of water
  20. dip — to dunk
  21. cap — a lid
  22. track — to keep track
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. bass — low music

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