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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. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  7. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  8. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  9. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  10. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  15. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  16. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  17. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.

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

Answer key

  1. jam — in traffic
  2. jam — to spread on bread
  3. cell — a phone
  4. pound — to hit hard
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. jam — a tight spot
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. stick — to attach or keep to
  9. row — a line
  10. pound — for dogs
  11. cell — in biology
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. file — a document
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. trunk — of a car
  16. pound — a weight
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. file — a tool
  19. file — a line of people
  20. calf — of the leg
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. trunk — of an elephant
  23. row — to paddle
  24. trunk — of a tree

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