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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. Have you found your soul ________________?
  2. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  7. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. It's one o'clock ________________.
  12. The King held a masked ________________.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  15. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  16. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  17. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  18. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  19. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  24. The kitten curled into a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. mark — a grade
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. leaves — to go away
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. sharp — with an edge
  7. mark — a trace
  8. hand — help
  9. leaves — of a tree
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. sharp — exactly
  12. ball — a dance
  13. hand — in cards
  14. chair — a leader
  15. mate — to breed
  16. leaves — lets stay
  17. ball — a great time
  18. sharp — clever
  19. mate — a friend
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. mark — to pay attention
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. chair — to sit on
  24. ball — a round shape

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