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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. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  3. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  6. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  7. We're on a ________________ here.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  12. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  13. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  14. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  15. She's very handy with a ________________.
  16. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. Have you met the new head ________________?
  21. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  22. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  23. He works in a ________________ mill.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. jam — to spread on bread
  2. track — a song
  3. object — an aim
  4. hand — help
  5. roll — a list
  6. object — to protest
  7. roll — on a roll
  8. hand — in cards
  9. object — a thing
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. jam — a tight spot
  12. roll — a cake
  13. jam — in traffic
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. saw — the tool
  16. track — a path
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. track — to keep track
  19. capital — a city
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. coach — pulled by horses
  22. saw — past of 'see'
  23. saw — the tool
  24. capital — money

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