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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. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  8. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  9. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.

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

Answer key

  1. jam — to spread on bread
  2. jam — in traffic
  3. chest — of your body
  4. court — of law
  5. lean — to rest against
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. bass — the instrument
  8. rest — what's left
  9. lean — thin
  10. chest — a box
  11. spring — the season
  12. wind — moving air
  13. court — of a king
  14. bass — low music
  15. wind — moving air
  16. lean — to bend
  17. chest — of your body
  18. jam — a tight spot
  19. spring — a coil
  20. bass — the fish
  21. spring — of water
  22. rest — a break
  23. court — for sport
  24. rest — what's left

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