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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. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  3. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  4. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. Don't do anything ________________.
  8. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  9. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  10. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. This piece is in a major ________________.
  13. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  14. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  18. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.

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

Answer key

  1. jam — in traffic
  2. key — the most important part
  3. jam — to spread on bread
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. rash — hasty
  8. key — for a lock
  9. rash — a series
  10. squash — the vegetable
  11. court — of a king
  12. key — in music
  13. rash — on the skin
  14. jam — a tight spot
  15. band — a ring
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. squash — the sport
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. court — for sport
  20. squash — to crush
  21. court — of law
  22. prune — to trim
  23. band — a music group
  24. prune — to trim

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