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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. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  5. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  10. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  11. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  19. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. jam — a tight spot
  3. chest — of your body
  4. staff — employees
  5. staff — employees
  6. chest — of your body
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. wound — an injury
  9. staff — a stick
  10. prune — to trim
  11. track — a song
  12. content — happy
  13. jam — in traffic
  14. wind — moving air
  15. prune — to trim
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. content — the amount
  18. track — to keep track
  19. track — a path
  20. wind — moving air
  21. jam — to spread on bread
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. chest — a box
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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