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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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  8. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  9. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. David sat on the ________________.
  16. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  17. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  18. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  19. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  20. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  21. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  22. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  23. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. jam — to spread on bread
  2. hand — help
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. row — a line
  7. track — a song
  8. calf — of the leg
  9. track — a path
  10. hand — in cards
  11. swing — in golf
  12. kid — child
  13. swing — music
  14. kid — to tease
  15. swing — to play on
  16. pitch — completely
  17. jam — a tight spot
  18. pitch — a sports field
  19. pitch — a sales talk
  20. jam — in traffic
  21. row — a quarrel
  22. calf — a young animal
  23. track — to keep track
  24. row — to paddle

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