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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. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  3. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  9. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  10. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  11. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  14. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  15. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  16. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  17. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  18. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  19. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. jam — a tight spot
  2. fan — to cool the air
  3. jam — in traffic
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. cell — in biology
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. cap — of ice
  10. cap — a hat
  11. jam — to spread on bread
  12. file — a line of people
  13. wake — a trail
  14. cap — a lid
  15. perch — the fish
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. wake — to stop sleeping
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. file — a tool
  21. wake — before a funeral
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. file — a document
  24. cell — a phone

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