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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. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  4. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  5. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  6. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  7. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  11. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. He is an ace ________________.
  18. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  21. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  24. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. file — a tool
  3. jam — a tight spot
  4. bowl — to roll
  5. jam — to spread on bread
  6. net — for catching
  7. bowl — a dish
  8. clip — a video
  9. net — after costs
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. craft — a handicraft
  12. file — a document
  13. file — a line of people
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. craft — a skill
  16. clip — to cut
  17. pitcher — in baseball
  18. jam — in traffic
  19. cell — in biology
  20. craft — boats
  21. bowl — a football final
  22. clip — for paper
  23. net — in sport
  24. cell — a phone

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