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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. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  3. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  4. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  7. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  10. You don't need to ________________ round.
  11. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  12. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. We're almost out of ________________.
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  19. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. He is an ace ________________.
  23. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  24. Tom got himself in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. jam — in traffic
  2. track — to keep track
  3. vault — a safe
  4. vault — in gymnastics
  5. bat — the animal
  6. track — a song
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. jam — to spread on bread
  10. pop — to visit
  11. pop — music
  12. track — a path
  13. bark — to shout
  14. vault — an arched ceiling
  15. cold — not warm
  16. cold — an illness
  17. pop — soda
  18. bark — of a tree
  19. bark — a dog's sound
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. pitcher — in baseball
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. jam — a tight spot

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