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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. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  2. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  3. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  4. The King held a masked ________________.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  10. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  15. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  18. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.

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

Answer key

  1. jam — a tight spot
  2. pitch — a sports field
  3. ball — a great time
  4. ball — a dance
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. band — a music group
  7. ball — a round shape
  8. hand — in cards
  9. jam — in traffic
  10. pitch — completely
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. shower — rain
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. jam — to spread on bread
  15. dip — a sauce
  16. hand — help
  17. dip — to dunk
  18. stem — to come from
  19. band — a ring
  20. stem — of a plant
  21. shower — to wash
  22. pitch — a sales talk
  23. stem — a stem cell
  24. dip — to sink

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