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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. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  6. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. I'll be taking the ________________.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  14. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  15. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  16. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  22. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  23. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. jam — a tight spot
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. row — a line
  5. tube — in a tire
  6. fall — to drop
  7. wound — an injury
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. shower — rain
  10. wind — moving air
  11. tube — the underground
  12. row — to paddle
  13. tube — a container
  14. jam — to spread on bread
  15. jam — in traffic
  16. firm — a company
  17. fall — the season
  18. firm — steady
  19. wind — moving air
  20. shower — to wash
  21. fall — to drop
  22. firm — decided
  23. wound — an injury
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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