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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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  5. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  6. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  7. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  8. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  11. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  16. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  22. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  23. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  24. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. jam — in traffic
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. field — a subject
  4. bass — the instrument
  5. pit — in a race
  6. jam — to spread on bread
  7. root — of a word
  8. pit — a hole
  9. field — for sport
  10. fine — high quality
  11. bass — low music
  12. game — a match
  13. field — farmland
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. root — the cause
  16. pit — a fruit stone
  17. cold — an illness
  18. jam — a tight spot
  19. game — wild animals
  20. cold — not warm
  21. fine — a penalty
  22. root — of a plant
  23. fine — all right
  24. bass — the fish

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