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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. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. What do you think of the new ________________?
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  7. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  17. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  18. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  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. jam — to spread on bread
  2. cold — not warm
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. row — to paddle
  6. pass — to succeed
  7. jam — a tight spot
  8. tear — from crying
  9. pass — to spend time
  10. tear — to rip
  11. cabinet — a cupboard
  12. tear — from crying
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. degree — temperature
  15. degree — an amount
  16. firm — a company
  17. firm — steady
  18. firm — decided
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. row — a line
  21. pass — a permit
  22. cold — an illness
  23. degree — from a university
  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