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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. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  4. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  5. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  6. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  7. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  8. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  15. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  16. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  17. She's very handy with a ________________.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  20. We're on a ________________ here.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  23. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  24. He works in a ________________ mill.

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

Answer key

  1. jam — a tight spot
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. jam — to spread on bread
  4. cap — of ice
  5. cap — a hat
  6. mouse — the animal
  7. saw — past of 'see'
  8. cap — a lid
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. wake — a trail
  11. field — for sport
  12. roll — a cake
  13. field — a subject
  14. mouse — for a computer
  15. wake — to stop sleeping
  16. mouse — the animal
  17. saw — the tool
  18. field — farmland
  19. jam — in traffic
  20. roll — on a roll
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. roll — a list
  23. wake — before a funeral
  24. saw — the tool

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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