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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 still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  6. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. The ________________ took off on time.
  12. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  13. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  14. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  15. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  16. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  17. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  18. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  19. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  20. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  21. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  22. David sat on the ________________.
  23. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  24. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. jam — a tight spot
  2. band — a ring
  3. fork — in a road
  4. band — a music group
  5. jam — in traffic
  6. mouse — for a computer
  7. clip — a video
  8. clip — to cut
  9. fork — a garden tool
  10. clip — for paper
  11. plane — an aircraft
  12. craft — a handicraft
  13. swing — music
  14. craft — boats
  15. fork — to eat with
  16. band — a rubber band
  17. craft — a skill
  18. jam — to spread on bread
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. plane — a tool
  21. swing — in golf
  22. swing — to play on
  23. mouse — the animal
  24. plane — in geometry

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