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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. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  4. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  5. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  8. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  9. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  10. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  16. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  17. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  22. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  23. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  24. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. content — happy
  3. jam — to spread on bread
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. jam — a tight spot
  8. wave — a sudden rise
  9. stick — to attach or keep to
  10. jam — in traffic
  11. content — the amount
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. pitch — completely
  14. shower — rain
  15. ruler — for measuring
  16. pitch — a sports field
  17. wave — of the sea
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. wave — with your hand
  22. pitch — a sales talk
  23. ruler — a monarch
  24. ruler — for measuring

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