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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. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  3. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  8. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  9. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  10. I'll be taking the ________________.
  11. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  12. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  13. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  17. Don't do anything ________________.
  18. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. jam — in traffic
  2. jam — to spread on bread
  3. tube — a container
  4. court — of a king
  5. court — of law
  6. court — for sport
  7. lie — to recline
  8. scale — in music
  9. tube — in a tire
  10. tube — the underground
  11. rash — on the skin
  12. scale — for weighing
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. file — a line of people
  15. file — a document
  16. scale — size or range
  17. rash — hasty
  18. jam — a tight spot
  19. file — a tool
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. last — finally
  22. rash — a series
  23. last — to go on
  24. last — final

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