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

  1. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  5. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  8. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  9. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  10. He is an ace ________________.
  11. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  12. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  13. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  17. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. jam — to spread on bread
  3. mine — for digging
  4. cap — a hat
  5. jam — in traffic
  6. bat — the animal
  7. cap — a lid
  8. jam — a tight spot
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. pitcher — in baseball
  11. cap — of ice
  12. foot — a measure
  13. foot — the bottom
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. foot — part of the body
  18. bat — for baseball

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