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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 116 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. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  2. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  3. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  4. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  5. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  8. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  9. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  14. Have you found your soul ________________?
  15. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  18. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  19. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  22. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — to breed
  2. mate — a friend
  3. pitch — a sales talk
  4. fall — the season
  5. wake — before a funeral
  6. content — the amount
  7. wake — a trail
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. board — to get on
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. pitch — completely
  12. fall — to drop
  13. board — a committee
  14. mate — a partner
  15. board — a flat piece
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. fall — to drop
  18. pitch — a sports field
  19. content — happy
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. stick — a piece of wood
  22. wake — to stop sleeping
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. stick — to attach or keep to

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