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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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  3. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. Have you found your soul ________________?
  12. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  15. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  22. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  23. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  24. Would you like some apricot ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. mate — a friend
  3. jam — a tight spot
  4. hand — in cards
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. game — wild animals
  8. file — a line of people
  9. fine — a penalty
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. mate — a partner
  12. cap — of ice
  13. file — a document
  14. fine — high quality
  15. cap — a lid
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. mate — to breed
  18. file — a tool
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. game — a match
  21. jam — in traffic
  22. cap — a hat
  23. fine — all right
  24. jam — to spread on bread

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