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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 bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  3. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  6. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  7. I've got to change the light ________________.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  14. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  15. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  20. Have you settled on a ________________?
  21. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  22. The light ________________ burned out.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

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

Answer key

  1. jam — to spread on bread
  2. jam — in traffic
  3. date — the fruit
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. vault — a safe
  6. wake — before a funeral
  7. bulb — for light
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. bulb — of a plant
  10. wake — a trail
  11. drill — a practice
  12. mine — for digging
  13. drill — army training
  14. wake — to stop sleeping
  15. vault — an arched ceiling
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. jam — a tight spot
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. vault — in gymnastics
  22. bulb — for light
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. drill — the tool

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