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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: charge · pop · squash · jam · foot · spring · straw · leaves

  1. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  2. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  3. We're almost out of ________________.
  4. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  5. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  12. You don't need to ________________ round.
  13. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  14. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  15. The tickets are free of ________________.
  16. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  17. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  24. Tom got himself in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. jam — to spread on bread
  2. charge — electricity
  3. pop — soda
  4. pop — music
  5. leaves — of a tree
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. charge — in control
  8. spring — a coil
  9. squash — to crush
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. foot — part of the body
  12. pop — to visit
  13. leaves — to go away
  14. leaves — lets stay
  15. charge — a price
  16. foot — the bottom
  17. squash — the sport
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. squash — the vegetable
  20. spring — the season
  21. foot — a measure
  22. spring — of water
  23. jam — in traffic
  24. jam — a tight spot

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