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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. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  7. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  8. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  9. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  12. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  15. Have you found your soul ________________?
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  19. I've got to change the light ________________.
  20. Don't do anything ________________.
  21. The light ________________ burned out.
  22. The ________________ took off on time.
  23. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  24. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.

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

Answer key

  1. jam — a tight spot
  2. jam — to spread on bread
  3. file — a line of people
  4. plane — in geometry
  5. spring — the season
  6. plane — a tool
  7. jam — in traffic
  8. rash — a series
  9. fork — a garden tool
  10. spring — a coil
  11. mate — a friend
  12. bulb — of a plant
  13. file — a tool
  14. rash — on the skin
  15. mate — a partner
  16. spring — of water
  17. file — a document
  18. fork — to eat with
  19. bulb — for light
  20. rash — hasty
  21. bulb — for light
  22. plane — an aircraft
  23. fork — in a road
  24. mate — to breed

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