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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. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  5. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  9. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  10. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  18. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  22. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. Tom got himself in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. jam — in traffic
  2. bass — the instrument
  3. content — the amount
  4. cap — a lid
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. wind — moving air
  7. last — to go on
  8. bass — the fish
  9. calf — of the leg
  10. cap — a hat
  11. cold — not warm
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. last — final
  15. content — happy
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. bass — low music
  18. cap — of ice
  19. cold — an illness
  20. last — finally
  21. calf — a young animal
  22. jam — to spread on bread
  23. wind — moving air
  24. jam — a tight spot

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