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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. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  4. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. That was ________________ to happen.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. What do you think of the new ________________?
  13. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  14. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  19. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  22. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  23. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  24. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. jam — a tight spot
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. jam — to spread on bread
  4. fall — to drop
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. cabinet — ministers
  7. cold — not warm
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. bound — certain
  10. cell — a phone
  11. cell — in biology
  12. cabinet — ministers
  13. fall — to drop
  14. bound — obliged
  15. cold — an illness
  16. game — a match
  17. fall — the season
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. lie — to recline
  20. game — wild animals
  21. cabinet — a cupboard
  22. bound — tied together
  23. lie — an untruth
  24. jam — in traffic

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