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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: pop · row · fan · clip · land · roll · jam · cabinet

  1. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  2. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  3. We're on a ________________ here.
  4. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  5. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. You don't need to ________________ round.
  10. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  11. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  12. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  13. We're almost out of ________________.
  14. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. What do you think of the new ________________?
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  24. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.

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

Answer key

  1. jam — a tight spot
  2. fan — to cool the air
  3. roll — on a roll
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. pop — music
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. roll — a list
  8. land — ground
  9. pop — to visit
  10. roll — a cake
  11. jam — to spread on bread
  12. jam — in traffic
  13. pop — soda
  14. cabinet — a cupboard
  15. clip — to cut
  16. row — a line
  17. land — a country
  18. land — to come down
  19. clip — for paper
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. clip — a video
  22. row — to paddle
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. fan — a supporter

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