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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. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  3. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  4. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  5. Have you settled on a ________________?
  6. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  10. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  11. That must've been a ________________.
  12. That was ________________ to happen.
  13. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  14. There's no middle ________________.
  15. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  16. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  19. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  22. This piece is in a major ________________.
  23. The ________________ market has crashed.
  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. rush — hurry
  2. bound — obliged
  3. jam — to spread on bread
  4. jam — a tight spot
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. stock — a soup base
  7. ground — the earth
  8. clip — a video
  9. rush — to hurry
  10. date — the fruit
  11. rush — a thrill
  12. bound — certain
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. ground — a position
  15. key — for a lock
  16. ground — crushed
  17. clip — for paper
  18. key — the most important part
  19. bound — tied together
  20. clip — to cut
  21. stock — goods
  22. key — in music
  23. stock — shares
  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