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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 ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  5. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  6. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  9. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  10. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  11. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  14. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  15. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. He is an ace ________________.
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. Did you ________________ the button?
  22. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.

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

Answer key

  1. jam — a tight spot
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. spell — letters
  4. press — a publisher
  5. bear — the animal
  6. jam — to spread on bread
  7. content — the amount
  8. jam — in traffic
  9. dip — to dunk
  10. spell — magic
  11. bear — the animal
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. dip — to sink
  15. dip — a sauce
  16. clip — for paper
  17. clip — a video
  18. spell — a short time
  19. pitcher — in baseball
  20. content — happy
  21. press — to push
  22. bear — to put up with
  23. clip — to cut
  24. press — newspapers

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