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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. David sat on the ________________.
  3. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  4. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  7. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  8. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  9. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  12. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  15. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  18. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  19. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  20. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  21. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  22. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  23. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  24. This piece is in a major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. jam — a tight spot
  2. swing — to play on
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. lash — to lash out
  5. chest — of your body
  6. jam — to spread on bread
  7. pound — to hit hard
  8. trunk — of a tree
  9. trunk — of a car
  10. chest — a box
  11. key — the most important part
  12. lash — a whip stroke
  13. chest — of your body
  14. pound — for dogs
  15. pound — a weight
  16. swing — in golf
  17. trunk — of an elephant
  18. swing — music
  19. jam — in traffic
  20. lash — an eyelash
  21. key — for a lock
  22. fan — to cool the air
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. key — in music

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