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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 120 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. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  9. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. Did you ________________ the meat?
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  16. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  17. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  18. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  19. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  22. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  23. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  24. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. content — happy
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. mate — a friend
  7. clip — to cut
  8. fall — the season
  9. can — a tin
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. can — a tin
  12. clip — a video
  13. season — to add flavour
  14. clip — for paper
  15. bass — low music
  16. season — of the year
  17. mate — to breed
  18. fall — to drop
  19. bass — the instrument
  20. content — the amount
  21. fall — to drop
  22. bass — the fish
  23. can — to be able to
  24. season — in sport

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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