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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. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  4. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  5. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  8. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  9. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  10. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. My father caught me by the ________________.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. jam — in traffic
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. pound — a weight
  4. lie — to recline
  5. jam — a tight spot
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. pound — for dogs
  8. jam — to spread on bread
  9. pound — to hit hard
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. bat — the animal
  13. arm — a part of something
  14. march — the month
  15. capital — money
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. march — the month
  19. wind — moving air
  20. wind — moving air
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. march — music
  23. arm — part of the body
  24. capital — a city

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