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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. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  2. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  3. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. Have you found your soul ________________?
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  19. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  22. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  23. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  24. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sales talk
  2. mate — a friend
  3. cap — a hat
  4. hand — in cards
  5. mate — to breed
  6. last — to go on
  7. file — a tool
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. last — final
  11. file — a line of people
  12. mate — a partner
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. hand — help
  15. cap — of ice
  16. last — finally
  17. file — a document
  18. board — a flat piece
  19. cap — a lid
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. board — a committee
  22. pitch — a sports field
  23. board — to get on
  24. pitch — completely

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