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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. Have you found your soul ________________?
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  4. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  5. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. My mare is ________________ in color.
  8. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  9. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  10. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  13. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  14. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  15. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  19. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  20. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  21. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  24. The ________________ market has crashed.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. mate — a friend
  4. bay — a part of the sea
  5. bay — to keep at bay
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. bay — a horse colour
  8. scale — size or range
  9. bass — low music
  10. scale — in music
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. scale — for weighing
  13. perch — the fish
  14. mate — to breed
  15. stock — a soup base
  16. mine — for digging
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. bass — the fish
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. stock — goods
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. bass — the instrument
  24. stock — shares

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