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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. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  4. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  5. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  6. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  13. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  14. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  15. Where did you ________________ them?
  16. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  17. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  21. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  22. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  23. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  24. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.

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

Answer key

  1. jam — to spread on bread
  2. cold — an illness
  3. jam — a tight spot
  4. pound — to hit hard
  5. mug — a face
  6. bowl — a football final
  7. bark — to shout
  8. cold — not warm
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. prune — to trim
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. bowl — to roll
  13. pound — a weight
  14. bowl — a dish
  15. mug — to rob
  16. chip — to eat
  17. chip — in a computer
  18. bark — a dog's sound
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. mug — a cup
  21. prune — to trim
  22. jam — in traffic
  23. pound — for dogs
  24. chip — for betting

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