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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. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  3. My mare is ________________ in color.
  4. Have you found your soul ________________?
  5. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  6. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  7. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  8. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  9. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  10. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  11. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  12. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  15. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  18. It's one o'clock ________________.
  19. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  20. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  23. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  24. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a friend
  2. bass — low music
  3. bay — a horse colour
  4. mate — a partner
  5. mate — to breed
  6. cap — a hat
  7. perch — the fish
  8. cap — of ice
  9. sharp — with an edge
  10. pitch — a sports field
  11. pitch — completely
  12. bass — the instrument
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. bay — to keep at bay
  15. pitch — a sales talk
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. cap — a lid
  18. sharp — exactly
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. bay — a part of the sea
  23. sharp — clever
  24. bass — the fish

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