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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 pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  5. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  6. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  7. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  8. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  9. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. Don't do anything ________________.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  17. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  20. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  21. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  22. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. chest — of your body
  3. spring — the season
  4. scale — for weighing
  5. pit — a hole
  6. pit — a fruit stone
  7. rash — a series
  8. jam — a tight spot
  9. scale — size or range
  10. spring — of water
  11. game — a match
  12. rash — on the skin
  13. chest — of your body
  14. rash — hasty
  15. chest — a box
  16. jam — in traffic
  17. track — to keep track
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. jam — to spread on bread
  20. track — a song
  21. scale — in music
  22. pit — in a race
  23. spring — a coil
  24. track — a path

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