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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. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  4. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  7. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  8. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. That was ________________ to happen.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.

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

Answer key

  1. jam — a tight spot
  2. last — final
  3. bound — tied together
  4. jam — to spread on bread
  5. last — finally
  6. calf — of the leg
  7. pitch — a sales talk
  8. bound — obliged
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. ground — a position
  11. game — a match
  12. ground — the earth
  13. game — wild animals
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. ground — crushed
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. last — to go on
  18. jam — in traffic
  19. court — for sport
  20. bound — certain
  21. court — of a king
  22. pitch — a sports field
  23. court — of law
  24. pitch — completely

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