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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. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  2. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  3. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  4. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  5. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  6. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. I'll be taking the ________________.
  9. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  12. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  13. That must've been a ________________.
  14. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  17. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  20. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.

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

Answer key

  1. jam — a tight spot
  2. jam — to spread on bread
  3. foot — a measure
  4. tube — in a tire
  5. jam — in traffic
  6. perch — the fish
  7. clip — for paper
  8. tube — the underground
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. clip — to cut
  11. pit — a fruit stone
  12. tube — a container
  13. rush — a thrill
  14. foot — the bottom
  15. field — for sport
  16. rush — to hurry
  17. pit — a hole
  18. field — farmland
  19. rush — hurry
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. field — a subject
  22. foot — part of the body
  23. clip — a video
  24. pit — in a race

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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