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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. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  2. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  3. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  4. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  5. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  11. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  12. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  13. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  14. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  20. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  23. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. jam — in traffic
  2. fan — to cool the air
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. dip — to dunk
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. capital — a city
  8. prune — to trim
  9. cell — in biology
  10. pitch — completely
  11. prune — the fruit
  12. jam — to spread on bread
  13. jam — a tight spot
  14. pitch — a sales talk
  15. net — for catching
  16. net — after costs
  17. dip — a sauce
  18. cell — a phone
  19. dip — to sink
  20. prune — to trim
  21. capital — money
  22. net — in sport
  23. pitch — a sports field
  24. cell — in a prison

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