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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. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  2. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  3. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. Did you ________________ the meat?
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  8. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  9. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  10. He works in a ________________ mill.
  11. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  17. She's very handy with a ________________.
  18. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  22. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  24. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. jam — in traffic
  2. saw — past of 'see'
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. cold — not warm
  5. season — to add flavour
  6. content — happy
  7. jam — to spread on bread
  8. season — in sport
  9. jam — a tight spot
  10. saw — the tool
  11. chip — for betting
  12. cold — an illness
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. content — the amount
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. season — of the year
  17. saw — the tool
  18. chip — in a computer
  19. chest — of your body
  20. chest — a box
  21. chip — to eat
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. chest — of your body
  24. racket — a loud noise

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