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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 120 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. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  2. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  3. It's one o'clock ________________.
  4. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  7. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  8. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  9. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  10. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  14. Have you found your soul ________________?
  15. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  19. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  20. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  21. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  22. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  23. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — of the sea
  2. leaves — lets stay
  3. sharp — exactly
  4. present — there
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. track — a path
  7. mate — to breed
  8. mate — a friend
  9. wave — a sudden rise
  10. track — a song
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. track — to keep track
  14. mate — a partner
  15. wave — with your hand
  16. cell — in biology
  17. sharp — clever
  18. sharp — with an edge
  19. leaves — to go away
  20. cell — a phone
  21. leaves — of a tree
  22. present — a gift
  23. present — the time now
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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