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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. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  2. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  3. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  4. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  5. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  6. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  7. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  8. How do you ________________ your surname?
  9. Have you found your soul ________________?
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  15. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  16. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  19. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  20. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  24. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?

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

Answer key

  1. present — the time now
  2. cap — of ice
  3. pitch — a sales talk
  4. mate — a friend
  5. pitch — completely
  6. pitch — a sports field
  7. cap — a hat
  8. spell — letters
  9. mate — a partner
  10. cold — an illness
  11. track — a song
  12. last — finally
  13. cold — not warm
  14. spell — magic
  15. present — there
  16. spell — a short time
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. mate — to breed
  19. present — a gift
  20. track — to keep track
  21. last — to go on
  22. last — final
  23. track — a path
  24. cap — a lid

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