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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. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  7. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  8. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  9. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  10. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  13. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  14. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  15. Have you found your soul ________________?
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. My father caught me by the ________________.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  21. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  22. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?

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

Answer key

  1. mate — to breed
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. cold — an illness
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. march — the month
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. cap — a lid
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. face — part of the head
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. face — to point toward
  13. cap — of ice
  14. arm — a part of something
  15. mate — a partner
  16. march — the month
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. cold — not warm
  20. face — to confront
  21. cap — a hat
  22. perch — the fish
  23. march — music
  24. mate — a friend

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