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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. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  11. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  14. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. Where did you ________________ them?
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  19. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. jam — a tight spot
  2. firm — a company
  3. clip — to cut
  4. game — a match
  5. mug — a cup
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. game — wild animals
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. mine — for digging
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. firm — steady
  12. hand — help
  13. patient — calm and waiting
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. clip — for paper
  16. mug — to rob
  17. hand — in cards
  18. firm — decided
  19. jam — to spread on bread
  20. clip — a video
  21. jam — in traffic
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. mug — a face
  24. hand — part of the body

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