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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: jam · content · cell · rush · march · rash · saw · straw

  1. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  2. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  3. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. That must've been a ________________.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. She's very handy with a ________________.
  19. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  20. He works in a ________________ mill.
  21. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  22. Don't do anything ________________.
  23. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. jam — to spread on bread
  2. rush — to hurry
  3. jam — in traffic
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. rash — on the skin
  7. march — music
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. content — happy
  10. march — the month
  11. rash — a series
  12. march — the month
  13. cell — a phone
  14. rush — a thrill
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. content — the amount
  18. saw — the tool
  19. saw — past of 'see'
  20. saw — the tool
  21. rush — hurry
  22. rash — hasty
  23. jam — a tight spot
  24. cell — in biology

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