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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. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  4. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  5. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  13. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. Don't do anything ________________.
  18. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  19. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  20. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  21. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  22. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  24. I seem to be developing a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — a series
  2. cold — not warm
  3. jam — a tight spot
  4. firm — a company
  5. firm — steady
  6. spring — a coil
  7. spring — the season
  8. jam — in traffic
  9. cold — an illness
  10. scale — for weighing
  11. file — a document
  12. mouse — for a computer
  13. mouse — the animal
  14. spring — of water
  15. file — a line of people
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. rash — hasty
  18. mouse — the animal
  19. scale — in music
  20. scale — size or range
  21. jam — to spread on bread
  22. firm — decided
  23. file — a tool
  24. rash — on the skin

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