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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. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  3. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. Have you found your soul ________________?
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  10. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  15. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  21. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a friend
  2. wake — a trail
  3. wake — before a funeral
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. mate — a partner
  8. band — a music group
  9. mark — to pay attention
  10. mate — to breed
  11. clip — for paper
  12. mark — a trace
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. track — a path
  15. track — a song
  16. clip — a video
  17. band — a ring
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. track — to keep track
  21. wake — to stop sleeping
  22. clip — to cut
  23. mark — a grade
  24. mine — for digging

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