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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. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. He works in a ________________ mill.
  4. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  5. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  8. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  11. She's very handy with a ________________.
  12. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  15. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  16. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. How do you ________________ your surname?
  19. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. jam — to spread on bread
  2. game — wild animals
  3. saw — the tool
  4. present — there
  5. jam — in traffic
  6. degree — an amount
  7. spell — a short time
  8. staff — employees
  9. chest — of your body
  10. saw — past of 'see'
  11. saw — the tool
  12. present — a gift
  13. chest — of your body
  14. staff — employees
  15. staff — a stick
  16. spell — magic
  17. chest — a box
  18. spell — letters
  19. present — the time now
  20. degree — from a university
  21. jam — a tight spot
  22. degree — temperature
  23. game — a match
  24. game — a kind of play

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