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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. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  3. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  4. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  5. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  6. He works in a ________________ mill.
  7. David sat on the ________________.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. She's very handy with a ________________.
  17. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  18. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  19. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  20. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. jam — in traffic
  2. trunk — of an elephant
  3. jam — a tight spot
  4. rock — to move gently
  5. swing — music
  6. saw — the tool
  7. swing — to play on
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. capital — money
  10. trunk — of a car
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. swing — in golf
  13. capital — a city
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. clip — to cut
  16. saw — the tool
  17. rock — music
  18. saw — past of 'see'
  19. jam — to spread on bread
  20. rock — a stone
  21. clip — a video
  22. clip — for paper
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. straw — a straw man

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