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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. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  2. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  3. You don't need to ________________ round.
  4. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  5. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  6. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  7. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  8. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  9. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  10. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  13. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  14. We're on a ________________ here.
  15. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. He is an ace ________________.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  23. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  24. We're almost out of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. pop — to visit
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. fall — the season
  6. roll — a cake
  7. mouse — the animal
  8. jam — in traffic
  9. mouse — for a computer
  10. jam — a tight spot
  11. field — a subject
  12. roll — a list
  13. mouse — the animal
  14. roll — on a roll
  15. pop — music
  16. row — a line
  17. row — to paddle
  18. pitcher — in baseball
  19. field — farmland
  20. jam — to spread on bread
  21. field — for sport
  22. fall — to drop
  23. row — a quarrel
  24. pop — soda

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