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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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  5. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  8. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  9. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  10. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  11. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  12. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  13. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  16. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  17. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  18. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  19. My mare is ________________ in color.
  20. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  21. Did you ________________ the meat?
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  24. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. jam — to spread on bread
  2. clip — for paper
  3. cell — a phone
  4. jam — a tight spot
  5. club — for golf
  6. clip — a video
  7. club — a group
  8. cell — in biology
  9. club — for dancing
  10. stem — a stem cell
  11. dip — to dunk
  12. season — in sport
  13. stem — to come from
  14. clip — to cut
  15. stem — of a plant
  16. season — of the year
  17. dip — a sauce
  18. dip — to sink
  19. bay — a horse colour
  20. jam — in traffic
  21. season — to add flavour
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. bay — to keep at bay
  24. bay — a part of the sea

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