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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. Have you found your soul ________________?
  2. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  3. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  4. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  7. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  8. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  9. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  12. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  13. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  16. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  17. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  18. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  21. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  22. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  23. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. lean — to rest against
  3. cap — a hat
  4. cap — a lid
  5. bark — to shout
  6. fine — a penalty
  7. wake — before a funeral
  8. cap — of ice
  9. fine — high quality
  10. clip — a video
  11. lean — to bend
  12. lean — thin
  13. mate — a friend
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. wake — to stop sleeping
  16. fall — to drop
  17. bark — of a tree
  18. wake — a trail
  19. clip — to cut
  20. fine — all right
  21. mate — to breed
  22. fall — to drop
  23. fall — the season
  24. clip — for paper

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