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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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  5. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  6. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  7. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  8. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  9. Have you found your soul ________________?
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  12. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  16. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  17. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  24. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a friend
  2. clip — for paper
  3. file — a line of people
  4. fork — to eat with
  5. toast — a drink to someone
  6. fork — a garden tool
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. bear — the animal
  9. mate — a partner
  10. game — wild animals
  11. fork — in a road
  12. mate — to breed
  13. game — a match
  14. file — a document
  15. toast — the most admired
  16. toast — bread
  17. bear — the animal
  18. file — a tool
  19. stick — to attach or keep to
  20. clip — to cut
  21. clip — a video
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. bear — to put up with
  24. stick — a piece of wood

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