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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. Have you found your soul ________________?
  2. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. He is an ace ________________.
  5. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  6. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  7. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  8. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  9. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  10. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  15. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  16. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  22. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. clip — a video
  4. pitcher — in baseball
  5. board — a flat piece
  6. row — to paddle
  7. wake — to stop sleeping
  8. board — a committee
  9. wake — before a funeral
  10. jam — to spread on bread
  11. content — the amount
  12. wake — a trail
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. board — to get on
  15. mate — a friend
  16. jam — a tight spot
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. clip — to cut
  19. clip — for paper
  20. content — happy
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. mate — to breed
  23. row — a line
  24. jam — in traffic

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