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

Word bank: staff · firm · jam · cold · wind · perch · spring · deal

  1. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  2. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  3. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  4. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  5. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  6. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  7. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  13. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  14. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  15. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. jam — in traffic
  2. firm — steady
  3. jam — a tight spot
  4. perch — the fish
  5. deal — an agreement
  6. staff — a stick
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. wind — moving air
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. spring — of water
  12. deal — a big deal
  13. jam — to spread on bread
  14. staff — employees
  15. firm — decided
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. staff — employees
  18. cold — not warm
  19. spring — the season
  20. wind — moving air
  21. deal — to handle
  22. cold — an illness
  23. firm — a company
  24. spring — a coil

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