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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. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  3. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  4. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  5. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  8. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  11. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  12. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  13. David sat on the ________________.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  20. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  21. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. jam — a tight spot
  2. cap — of ice
  3. swing — in golf
  4. jam — in traffic
  5. fall — to drop
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. cap — a lid
  8. pound — to hit hard
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. pound — a weight
  11. swing — music
  12. pound — for dogs
  13. swing — to play on
  14. capital — a city
  15. cap — a hat
  16. cell — in biology
  17. capital — money
  18. field — farmland
  19. fall — the season
  20. fall — to drop
  21. jam — to spread on bread
  22. cell — a phone
  23. field — a subject
  24. field — for sport

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