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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. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  2. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  3. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  8. I can't ________________ this cold.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  15. Have you found your soul ________________?
  16. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  17. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  22. He is an ace ________________.
  23. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a friend
  2. mate — to breed
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. content — the amount
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. stand — to bear
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. hand — in cards
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. hand — help
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. fan — to cool the air
  15. mate — a partner
  16. stand — for spectators
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. mine — for digging
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. content — happy
  21. stand — on your feet
  22. pitcher — in baseball
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. hand — part of the body

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