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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. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  2. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  3. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  4. She's very handy with a ________________.
  5. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. He is an ace ________________.
  8. He works in a ________________ mill.
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  21. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  22. Have you found your soul ________________?
  23. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a lid
  2. mate — a friend
  3. cap — of ice
  4. saw — the tool
  5. pit — a hole
  6. row — a line
  7. pitcher — in baseball
  8. saw — the tool
  9. file — a line of people
  10. mate — to breed
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. game — a match
  15. file — a document
  16. saw — past of 'see'
  17. file — a tool
  18. cap — a hat
  19. game — wild animals
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. pit — a fruit stone
  22. mate — a partner
  23. pit — in a race
  24. row — to paddle

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