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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 kitten curled into a ________________.
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  5. The King held a masked ________________.
  6. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  7. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  8. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. He is an ace ________________.
  11. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  14. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  19. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  22. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  23. The ________________ took off on time.
  24. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.

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

Answer key

  1. jam — a tight spot
  2. ball — a round shape
  3. row — a line
  4. jam — in traffic
  5. ball — a dance
  6. jam — to spread on bread
  7. scale — for weighing
  8. scale — in music
  9. cold — not warm
  10. pitcher — in baseball
  11. lie — an untruth
  12. row — to paddle
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. plane — a tool
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. scale — size or range
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. plane — in geometry
  20. cold — an illness
  21. ball — a great time
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. plane — an aircraft
  24. lie — to recline

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