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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. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. Did you ________________ the meat?
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  8. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  13. David sat on the ________________.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. jam — to spread on bread
  2. season — of the year
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. season — to add flavour
  5. file — a tool
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. swing — music
  8. jam — in traffic
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. bear — to put up with
  11. capital — a city
  12. jam — a tight spot
  13. swing — to play on
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. capital — money
  16. swing — in golf
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. shower — to wash
  19. file — a document
  20. season — in sport
  21. bear — the animal
  22. file — a line of people
  23. shower — rain
  24. bear — the animal

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