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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. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  2. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  5. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  6. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  10. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. Have you found your soul ________________?
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. My mare is ________________ in color.
  19. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  20. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a friend
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. content — the amount
  4. file — a document
  5. bay — a part of the sea
  6. cap — a hat
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. file — a line of people
  9. bay — to keep at bay
  10. rule — a law
  11. content — happy
  12. rule — to rule out
  13. file — a tool
  14. cap — of ice
  15. game — a match
  16. mate — a partner
  17. game — wild animals
  18. bay — a horse colour
  19. rule — government
  20. cap — a lid
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. mate — to breed

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