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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. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  2. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  7. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  8. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  9. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  10. It's one o'clock ________________.
  11. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. The ________________ went through the wall.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. Did you ________________ the meat?
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  22. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  23. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. season — in sport
  2. jam — to spread on bread
  3. wind — moving air
  4. jam — in traffic
  5. chest — of your body
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. pass — a permit
  8. pass — to succeed
  9. nail — on a finger
  10. sharp — exactly
  11. sharp — with an edge
  12. row — a line
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. chest — a box
  16. season — to add flavour
  17. wind — moving air
  18. chest — of your body
  19. jam — a tight spot
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. pass — to spend time
  22. sharp — clever
  23. season — of the year
  24. row — to paddle

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