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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. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  7. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  10. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. Have you met the new head ________________?
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  22. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.

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

Answer key

  1. jam — a tight spot
  2. shower — rain
  3. row — a line
  4. jam — in traffic
  5. field — for sport
  6. rock — a stone
  7. jam — to spread on bread
  8. field — farmland
  9. foot — a measure
  10. foot — part of the body
  11. mine — for digging
  12. row — to paddle
  13. coach — pulled by horses
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. rock — music
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. shower — to wash
  19. field — a subject
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. foot — the bottom
  22. rock — to move gently
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. coach — a trainer

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