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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. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  2. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  3. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  7. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  11. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  12. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  13. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  18. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  19. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  20. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  21. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  22. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. jam — a tight spot
  2. firm — steady
  3. firm — a company
  4. content — the amount
  5. wind — moving air
  6. jam — to spread on bread
  7. pitch — completely
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. pitch — a sales talk
  11. fork — a garden tool
  12. firm — decided
  13. fork — in a road
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. wind — moving air
  16. cold — not warm
  17. squash — the vegetable
  18. squash — the sport
  19. jam — in traffic
  20. fork — to eat with
  21. squash — to crush
  22. pitch — a sports field
  23. cold — an illness
  24. content — happy

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