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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. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  5. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  6. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  7. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  12. We're on a ________________ here.
  13. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  14. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  15. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  20. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  21. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  22. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  23. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  24. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.

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

Answer key

  1. jam — to spread on bread
  2. wound — an injury
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. jam — a tight spot
  5. cap — of ice
  6. dip — to dunk
  7. deal — to handle
  8. content — happy
  9. fall — to drop
  10. content — the amount
  11. fall — the season
  12. roll — on a roll
  13. dip — a sauce
  14. cap — a hat
  15. roll — a cake
  16. wound — an injury
  17. deal — an agreement
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. deal — a big deal
  20. fall — to drop
  21. dip — to sink
  22. cap — a lid
  23. jam — in traffic
  24. roll — a list

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