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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 120 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. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. Have you found your soul ________________?
  6. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  15. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  18. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  19. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  20. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  21. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  24. I would like to have a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a friend
  2. cap — a lid
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. mate — a partner
  6. bowl — a dish
  7. cold — an illness
  8. vault — a safe
  9. content — the amount
  10. bowl — to roll
  11. cold — not warm
  12. rest — what's left
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. cap — of ice
  15. cap — a hat
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. rest — what's left
  18. vault — in gymnastics
  19. vault — an arched ceiling
  20. mate — to breed
  21. bowl — a football final
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. content — happy
  24. rest — a break

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