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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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  3. Have you found your soul ________________?
  4. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  5. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. When will it ________________ you to start?
  23. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  24. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. suit — clothes
  3. mate — a partner
  4. mate — to breed
  5. rock — to move gently
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. march — the month
  8. bowl — a dish
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. mate — a friend
  11. march — the month
  12. hand — help
  13. rock — music
  14. clip — to cut
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. bowl — to roll
  18. hand — in cards
  19. rock — a stone
  20. clip — a video
  21. march — music
  22. suit — to fit
  23. bowl — a football final
  24. suit — in cards

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