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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. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  2. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  3. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. The ________________ took off on time.
  12. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  15. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  16. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  17. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  20. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  21. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  22. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. Did you ________________ the meat?

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

Answer key

  1. jam — in traffic
  2. jam — to spread on bread
  3. jam — a tight spot
  4. game — a match
  5. net — in sport
  6. tear — to rip
  7. season — of the year
  8. game — wild animals
  9. net — for catching
  10. tear — from crying
  11. plane — an aircraft
  12. net — after costs
  13. tear — from crying
  14. branch — of a bank
  15. branch — a division
  16. plane — in geometry
  17. season — in sport
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. branch — of a tree
  20. plane — a tool
  21. drill — the tool
  22. drill — a practice
  23. drill — army training
  24. season — to add flavour

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