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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. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  2. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  5. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  6. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  7. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  8. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  9. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  10. Have you found your soul ________________?
  11. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  16. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  17. He works in a ________________ mill.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. It's one o'clock ________________.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. She's very handy with a ________________.
  24. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a song
  2. rest — what's left
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. mate — to breed
  5. sharp — clever
  6. rest — a break
  7. track — to keep track
  8. prune — to trim
  9. mate — a friend
  10. mate — a partner
  11. sharp — with an edge
  12. content — happy
  13. saw — past of 'see'
  14. content — the amount
  15. rest — what's left
  16. track — a path
  17. saw — the tool
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. sharp — exactly
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. saw — the tool
  24. prune — to trim

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