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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. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  7. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  8. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  9. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  10. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  11. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  12. How do you ________________ your surname?
  13. That must've been a ________________.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  16. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  21. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  24. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.

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

Answer key

  1. jam — a tight spot
  2. racket — a loud noise
  3. cold — an illness
  4. spell — a short time
  5. hand — help
  6. fall — to drop
  7. fall — to drop
  8. bowl — a dish
  9. jam — to spread on bread
  10. jam — in traffic
  11. rush — hurry
  12. spell — letters
  13. rush — a thrill
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. spell — magic
  18. cold — not warm
  19. hand — in cards
  20. fall — the season
  21. bowl — a football final
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. rush — to hurry
  24. bowl — to roll

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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