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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. Have you found your soul ________________?
  2. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  3. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  4. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  7. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  8. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  9. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  10. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  11. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  12. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  23. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. toast — a drink to someone
  3. pitch — a sales talk
  4. mark — a trace
  5. bat — the animal
  6. toast — bread
  7. craft — a handicraft
  8. craft — boats
  9. toast — the most admired
  10. mark — a grade
  11. pitch — a sports field
  12. mark — to pay attention
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. mate — to breed
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. pitch — completely
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. cell — a phone
  21. cell — in biology
  22. craft — a skill
  23. mate — a friend
  24. bat — in an idiom

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