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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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  3. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  7. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  8. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  9. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  12. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  13. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. We're almost out of ________________.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. You don't need to ________________ round.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  22. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  23. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  24. I play ________________ in a jazz band.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. leaves — to go away
  3. sharp — clever
  4. spring — the season
  5. spring — a coil
  6. sharp — with an edge
  7. leaves — lets stay
  8. leaves — of a tree
  9. bass — low music
  10. spring — of water
  11. jam — to spread on bread
  12. pop — music
  13. jam — a tight spot
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. pop — soda
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. pop — to visit
  19. row — to paddle
  20. row — a line
  21. bass — the fish
  22. row — a quarrel
  23. jam — in traffic
  24. bass — the instrument

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