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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. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  3. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  4. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  5. That was ________________ to happen.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  12. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  17. Have you settled on a ________________?
  18. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  19. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  20. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  21. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  22. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  23. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  24. Would you like some apricot ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. jam — in traffic
  2. jam — a tight spot
  3. chip — to eat
  4. club — for golf
  5. bound — certain
  6. mine — for digging
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. date — the fruit
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. clip — for paper
  11. vault — in gymnastics
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. clip — a video
  14. club — for dancing
  15. clip — to cut
  16. club — a group
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. bound — tied together
  19. vault — a safe
  20. bound — obliged
  21. chip — in a computer
  22. chip — for betting
  23. vault — an arched ceiling
  24. jam — to spread on bread

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