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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. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  4. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  7. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  8. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  9. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  10. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  11. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  12. Did you ________________ the meat?
  13. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  16. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  20. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  21. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  24. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.

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

Answer key

  1. jam — a tight spot
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. jam — to spread on bread
  4. root — of a word
  5. bat — the animal
  6. rest — what's left
  7. rest — what's left
  8. rest — a break
  9. pitch — completely
  10. root — the cause
  11. pitch — a sports field
  12. season — to add flavour
  13. root — of a plant
  14. clip — a video
  15. season — in sport
  16. pitch — a sales talk
  17. clip — to cut
  18. clip — for paper
  19. snap — to click
  20. season — of the year
  21. jam — in traffic
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. snap — to speak sharply
  24. snap — to snap out of it

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