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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 don't want to ________________ the boat.
  3. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  4. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  11. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  12. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  13. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  14. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  15. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  19. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  20. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  24. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.

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

Answer key

  1. jam — to spread on bread
  2. rock — to move gently
  3. fork — in a road
  4. dip — to dunk
  5. hand — help
  6. cold — not warm
  7. land — ground
  8. hand — in cards
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. bass — low music
  11. dip — to sink
  12. jam — in traffic
  13. bass — the instrument
  14. rock — a stone
  15. rock — music
  16. land — a country
  17. cold — an illness
  18. jam — a tight spot
  19. fork — to eat with
  20. bass — the fish
  21. land — to come down
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. dip — a sauce
  24. fork — a garden tool

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