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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 · season · file · pitcher · bound · clip · last · bay

  1. He is an ace ________________.
  2. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  8. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  9. My mare is ________________ in color.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  16. That was ________________ to happen.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  19. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  23. Did you ________________ the meat?
  24. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — in baseball
  2. mate — a partner
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. file — a line of people
  5. season — in sport
  6. clip — for paper
  7. bound — obliged
  8. bay — to keep at bay
  9. bay — a horse colour
  10. clip — to cut
  11. bay — a part of the sea
  12. last — finally
  13. last — final
  14. last — to go on
  15. season — of the year
  16. bound — certain
  17. file — a tool
  18. bound — tied together
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. file — a document
  21. clip — a video
  22. mate — to breed
  23. season — to add flavour
  24. mate — a friend

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