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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. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  2. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  3. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  6. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. Have you found your soul ________________?
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  15. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  16. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  17. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  23. Have you settled on a ________________?
  24. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.

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

Answer key

  1. jam — to spread on bread
  2. mate — to breed
  3. jam — a tight spot
  4. chest — of your body
  5. mate — a friend
  6. jam — in traffic
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. object — to protest
  9. chest — a box
  10. mate — a partner
  11. chest — of your body
  12. band — a ring
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. object — an aim
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. date — the fruit
  17. bore — to tire
  18. band — a music group
  19. bore — to drill
  20. bat — the animal
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. object — a thing
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. bore — gave birth

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