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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: mate · swing · cap · cell · straw · season · sharp · pop

  1. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  2. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. It's one o'clock ________________.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  11. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  12. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  13. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  14. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  15. We're almost out of ________________.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  19. You don't need to ________________ round.
  20. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  21. David sat on the ________________.
  22. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  23. Did you ________________ the meat?
  24. Have you found your soul ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. cap — of ice
  2. season — of the year
  3. sharp — exactly
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. cell — a phone
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. mate — to breed
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. cap — a hat
  11. cap — a lid
  12. sharp — clever
  13. swing — in golf
  14. pop — music
  15. pop — soda
  16. cell — in biology
  17. swing — music
  18. sharp — with an edge
  19. pop — to visit
  20. mate — a friend
  21. swing — to play on
  22. season — in sport
  23. season — to add flavour
  24. mate — a partner

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