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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. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  5. We're on a ________________ here.
  6. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  7. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  12. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  23. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. jam — to spread on bread
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. mine — for digging
  4. lean — to rest against
  5. roll — on a roll
  6. board — a flat piece
  7. roll — a cake
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. jam — in traffic
  10. spring — a coil
  11. jam — a tight spot
  12. roll — a list
  13. chest — of your body
  14. spring — of water
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. board — a committee
  17. wind — moving air
  18. chest — of your body
  19. lean — to bend
  20. chest — a box
  21. spring — the season
  22. lean — thin
  23. board — to get on
  24. wind — moving air

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