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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 was locked up in a ________________.
  2. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. We're on a ________________ here.
  5. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  6. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  7. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  8. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  9. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  12. The ________________ went through the wall.
  13. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  14. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  15. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. Would you like some apricot ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in a prison
  2. track — a song
  3. cell — a phone
  4. roll — on a roll
  5. kick — with a leg
  6. kick — a thrill
  7. jam — in traffic
  8. nail — on a finger
  9. kick — in football
  10. chest — a box
  11. roll — a list
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. track — a path
  14. roll — a cake
  15. jam — a tight spot
  16. chest — of your body
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. chest — of your body
  21. track — to keep track
  22. cell — in biology
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. jam — to spread on bread

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