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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. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  3. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  6. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  9. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. We're on a ________________ here.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  17. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  18. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  21. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  24. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. jam — a tight spot
  2. wound — past of 'wind'
  3. jam — in traffic
  4. court — for sport
  5. jam — to spread on bread
  6. object — to protest
  7. clip — for paper
  8. branch — a division
  9. branch — of a bank
  10. wound — an injury
  11. court — of law
  12. wake — to stop sleeping
  13. clip — to cut
  14. roll — on a roll
  15. clip — a video
  16. object — a thing
  17. branch — of a tree
  18. roll — a list
  19. court — of a king
  20. object — an aim
  21. wake — before a funeral
  22. wound — an injury
  23. wake — a trail
  24. roll — a cake

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