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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 had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. David sat on the ________________.
  3. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  4. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  5. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. We're on a ________________ here.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  22. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  23. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  24. Would you like some apricot ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. swing — to play on
  3. jam — a tight spot
  4. jam — in traffic
  5. fall — the season
  6. chest — a box
  7. safe — out of danger
  8. content — happy
  9. roll — on a roll
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. swing — music
  12. fall — to drop
  13. roll — a cake
  14. cold — not warm
  15. safe — a strongbox
  16. chest — of your body
  17. chest — of your body
  18. content — the amount
  19. fall — to drop
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. roll — a list
  22. safe — out of danger
  23. swing — in golf
  24. jam — to spread on bread

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