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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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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 · cold · bear · content · clip · mug · bowl · row

  1. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  2. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  9. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. Have you found your soul ________________?
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  18. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  19. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. Where did you ________________ them?
  22. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  23. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  24. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — to breed
  2. row — a line
  3. cold — not warm
  4. bear — the animal
  5. clip — for paper
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. cold — an illness
  8. mug — a cup
  9. bowl — a dish
  10. content — the amount
  11. bear — to put up with
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. row — to paddle
  14. clip — to cut
  15. mate — a partner
  16. clip — a video
  17. bowl — a football final
  18. mate — a friend
  19. bear — the animal
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. mug — to rob
  22. content — happy
  23. mug — a face
  24. bowl — to roll

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