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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. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  4. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  5. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  8. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. David sat on the ________________.
  12. Don't do anything ________________.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  15. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  16. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  17. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  21. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. rash — on the skin
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. jam — in traffic
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. pit — in a race
  8. pit — a hole
  9. capital — money
  10. capital — a city
  11. swing — to play on
  12. rash — hasty
  13. band — a music group
  14. hide — animal skin
  15. rash — a series
  16. jam — to spread on bread
  17. jam — a tight spot
  18. game — a match
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. swing — in golf
  21. swing — music
  22. band — a ring
  23. game — wild animals
  24. pit — a fruit stone

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