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

Word bank: pit · march · mate · clip · cap · swing · can · straw

  1. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  2. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  3. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. David sat on the ________________.
  12. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  13. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  14. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  15. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  16. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  17. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  20. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  21. Have you found your soul ________________?
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — to breed
  2. cap — a hat
  3. can — a tin
  4. clip — to cut
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. march — the month
  7. clip — a video
  8. cap — of ice
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. clip — for paper
  11. swing — to play on
  12. swing — in golf
  13. pit — in a race
  14. swing — music
  15. pit — a fruit stone
  16. can — to be able to
  17. pit — a hole
  18. march — music
  19. mate — a friend
  20. cap — a lid
  21. mate — a partner
  22. march — the month
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. can — a tin

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