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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. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  4. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. Have you settled on a ________________?
  8. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  9. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  10. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  14. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  15. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  18. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  23. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  24. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — to put up with
  2. chest — of your body
  3. jam — a tight spot
  4. kick — a thrill
  5. chest — a box
  6. capital — a city
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. kick — with a leg
  9. bear — the animal
  10. date — the fruit
  11. capital — money
  12. chest — of your body
  13. jam — to spread on bread
  14. kick — in football
  15. pitch — completely
  16. shower — rain
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. bear — the animal
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. shower — to wash
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. pitch — a sports field
  23. pitch — a sales talk
  24. jam — in traffic

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