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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. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  2. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  4. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. He is an ace ________________.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  13. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  14. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. Don't do anything ________________.
  17. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  18. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  19. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  20. Have you found your soul ________________?
  21. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  22. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  23. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  24. Did you ________________ the meat?

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. scale — in music
  4. scale — size or range
  5. clip — a video
  6. season — in sport
  7. clip — to cut
  8. season — of the year
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. pitcher — in baseball
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. rest — a break
  13. rash — a series
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. clip — for paper
  16. rash — hasty
  17. scale — for weighing
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. rash — on the skin
  20. mate — a partner
  21. rest — what's left
  22. mate — a friend
  23. rest — what's left
  24. season — to add flavour

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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