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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's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  9. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  10. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  11. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  12. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  13. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  17. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  20. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  21. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  22. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. Boris sat near the fire ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. jam — a tight spot
  2. mine — for digging
  3. pitch — a sales talk
  4. wind — moving air
  5. game — a match
  6. game — wild animals
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. jam — in traffic
  9. present — a gift
  10. branch — a division
  11. present — there
  12. present — the time now
  13. pit — in a race
  14. wind — moving air
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. pit — a fruit stone
  17. pitch — completely
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. pitch — a sports field
  20. branch — of a tree
  21. jam — to spread on bread
  22. branch — of a bank
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. pit — a hole

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