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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. The ________________ went through the wall.
  3. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  6. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  7. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  13. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  17. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  18. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. David sat on the ________________.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. jam — to spread on bread
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. prune — to trim
  4. hand — help
  5. swing — in golf
  6. jam — a tight spot
  7. board — a committee
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. swing — music
  10. hand — in cards
  11. wound — an injury
  12. prune — to trim
  13. board — to get on
  14. game — a match
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. jam — in traffic
  18. nail — on a finger
  19. wound — an injury
  20. game — wild animals
  21. board — a flat piece
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. swing — to play on
  24. game — a kind of play

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