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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.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
468
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: game · mine · track · chest · club · craft · chair · jam

  1. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  4. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  9. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  12. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  13. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  16. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  19. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  23. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  24. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. jam — to spread on bread
  2. chest — of your body
  3. track — to keep track
  4. track — a path
  5. game — wild animals
  6. game — a match
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. craft — boats
  9. craft — a skill
  10. chest — a box
  11. club — a group
  12. club — for golf
  13. chair — a leader
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. craft — a handicraft
  16. track — a song
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. jam — in traffic
  19. jam — a tight spot
  20. mine — for digging
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. chest — of your body
  23. club — for dancing
  24. chair — to sit on

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