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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. Have you found your soul ________________?
  2. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  8. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  20. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  21. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  22. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  23. He was locked up in a ________________.
  24. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. firm — a company
  3. clip — for paper
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. cell — in biology
  6. file — a tool
  7. can — a tin
  8. lie — an untruth
  9. clip — to cut
  10. file — a document
  11. clip — a video
  12. firm — steady
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. can — a tin
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. mate — a friend
  17. file — a line of people
  18. cell — a phone
  19. can — to be able to
  20. mate — to breed
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. firm — decided
  23. cell — in a prison
  24. lie — to recline

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