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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. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  2. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  3. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  4. He is an ace ________________.
  5. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  6. We're on a ________________ here.
  7. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  10. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  11. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  12. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  18. I'll be taking the ________________.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. Don't do anything ________________.
  21. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  22. The ________________ went through the wall.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. Fill up this ________________ with water.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — on the skin
  2. jam — to spread on bread
  3. roll — a cake
  4. pitcher — in baseball
  5. jam — in traffic
  6. roll — on a roll
  7. roll — a list
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. rash — a series
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. tube — a container
  12. jam — a tight spot
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. nail — on a finger
  15. wind — moving air
  16. mine — for digging
  17. tube — in a tire
  18. tube — the underground
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. rash — hasty
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. wind — moving air
  24. pitcher — a jug

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