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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. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  4. We're almost out of ________________.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. You don't need to ________________ round.
  13. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  20. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  21. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  22. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  23. Have you settled on a ________________?
  24. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. net — in sport
  3. jam — in traffic
  4. pop — soda
  5. spell — letters
  6. spell — magic
  7. net — for catching
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. jam — to spread on bread
  10. net — after costs
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. pop — to visit
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. cap — of ice
  16. mine — for digging
  17. date — the fruit
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. cap — a lid
  20. jam — a tight spot
  21. cap — a hat
  22. pop — music
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. spell — a short time

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