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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. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  4. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  5. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  9. It's one o'clock ________________.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. He is an ace ________________.
  12. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  15. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  16. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  17. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  18. We're on a ________________ here.
  19. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  20. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  21. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  22. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  23. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. jam — a tight spot
  2. shower — to wash
  3. sharp — with an edge
  4. track — a path
  5. branch — a division
  6. court — of law
  7. court — for sport
  8. branch — of a bank
  9. sharp — exactly
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. pitcher — in baseball
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. shower — rain
  14. branch — of a tree
  15. sharp — clever
  16. roll — a list
  17. roll — a cake
  18. roll — on a roll
  19. jam — in traffic
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. jam — to spread on bread
  22. track — a song
  23. track — to keep track
  24. court — of a king

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