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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. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. Have you settled on a ________________?
  6. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  7. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  8. Did you ________________ the meat?
  9. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  15. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  16. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  17. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  18. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  21. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  22. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  23. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  24. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. jam — to spread on bread
  2. ground — crushed
  3. fine — all right
  4. cell — in biology
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. jam — a tight spot
  7. pass — to spend time
  8. season — to add flavour
  9. jam — in traffic
  10. ground — a position
  11. mark — a grade
  12. cell — a phone
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. fine — a penalty
  15. fine — high quality
  16. pass — a permit
  17. date — the fruit
  18. mark — to pay attention
  19. ground — the earth
  20. mark — a trace
  21. pass — to succeed
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. season — of the year
  24. season — in sport

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