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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. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  2. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  3. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  13. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  16. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  20. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. I can't ________________ this cold.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — size or range
  2. jam — a tight spot
  3. stand — on your feet
  4. cell — a phone
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. last — final
  7. scale — in music
  8. content — happy
  9. stand — for spectators
  10. file — a line of people
  11. file — a tool
  12. object — to protest
  13. object — an aim
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. scale — for weighing
  16. object — a thing
  17. file — a document
  18. last — finally
  19. jam — to spread on bread
  20. jam — in traffic
  21. last — to go on
  22. content — the amount
  23. stand — to bear
  24. cell — in biology

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