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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. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  3. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  8. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  11. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  12. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  13. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  14. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  19. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  24. I can't ________________ this cold.

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

Answer key

  1. jam — a tight spot
  2. jam — to spread on bread
  3. bore — to tire
  4. land — to come down
  5. land — ground
  6. court — of a king
  7. trunk — of an elephant
  8. trunk — of a car
  9. court — for sport
  10. stand — for spectators
  11. stand — on your feet
  12. bore — to drill
  13. trunk — of a tree
  14. bore — gave birth
  15. clip — a video
  16. clip — for paper
  17. clip — to cut
  18. firm — decided
  19. firm — a company
  20. court — of law
  21. jam — in traffic
  22. land — a country
  23. firm — steady
  24. stand — to bear

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