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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. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  2. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  5. David sat on the ________________.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  8. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  9. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  10. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  14. Don't do anything ________________.
  15. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  16. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. Would you like some apricot ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. fine — high quality
  2. jam — a tight spot
  3. shower — rain
  4. rash — on the skin
  5. swing — to play on
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. chip — in a computer
  8. jam — in traffic
  9. chip — to eat
  10. swing — in golf
  11. shower — to wash
  12. land — ground
  13. swing — music
  14. rash — hasty
  15. rash — a series
  16. fine — all right
  17. spring — of water
  18. spring — the season
  19. chip — for betting
  20. spring — a coil
  21. fine — a penalty
  22. land — a country
  23. land — to come down
  24. jam — to spread on bread

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