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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. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  2. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  3. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  4. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  5. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  6. We're almost out of ________________.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  9. You don't need to ________________ round.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  18. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  19. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  20. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  21. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  22. Have you settled on a ________________?
  23. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  24. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — in cards
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. jam — in traffic
  4. present — a gift
  5. jam — a tight spot
  6. pop — soda
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. can — to be able to
  9. pop — to visit
  10. field — a subject
  11. field — for sport
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. field — farmland
  16. hand — help
  17. jam — to spread on bread
  18. present — there
  19. can — a tin
  20. present — the time now
  21. date — the fruit
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. can — a tin
  24. pop — music

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