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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. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  7. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  12. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  16. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  17. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. jam — a tight spot
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. root — the cause
  4. chest — of your body
  5. chest — of your body
  6. root — of a word
  7. dip — to dunk
  8. tear — from crying
  9. hide — animal skin
  10. tear — from crying
  11. jam — in traffic
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. cell — a phone
  14. tear — to rip
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. jam — to spread on bread
  17. dip — a sauce
  18. shower — to wash
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. cell — in biology
  21. root — of a plant
  22. chest — a box
  23. dip — to sink
  24. shower — rain

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