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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. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  7. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  8. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  9. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  17. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  18. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  19. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  20. The ________________ took off on time.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  24. Tom got himself in a ________________.

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. bat — for baseball
  4. shower — to wash
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. pit — in a race
  7. fine — high quality
  8. fine — a penalty
  9. pit — a hole
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. scale — for weighing
  12. bat — the animal
  13. scale — in music
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. band — a music group
  16. scale — size or range
  17. pit — a fruit stone
  18. fine — all right
  19. plane — in geometry
  20. plane — an aircraft
  21. shower — rain
  22. band — a ring
  23. plane — a tool
  24. jam — a tight spot

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