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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. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  2. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  5. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  6. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  7. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  10. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  15. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  16. That was ________________ to happen.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. Have you found your soul ________________?
  22. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  23. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  24. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.

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

Answer key

  1. jam — to spread on bread
  2. shower — rain
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. mate — to breed
  5. jam — in traffic
  6. wake — to stop sleeping
  7. mate — a friend
  8. spring — the season
  9. jam — a tight spot
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. shower — to wash
  12. row — to paddle
  13. spring — a coil
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. wake — before a funeral
  16. bound — certain
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. bound — obliged
  19. spring — of water
  20. row — a line
  21. mate — a partner
  22. wake — a trail
  23. patient — calm and waiting
  24. bound — tied together

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