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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: swing · jam · wake · ground · rule · chest · net · content

  1. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  2. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  3. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  6. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  7. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  8. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  9. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  10. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  19. There's no middle ________________.
  20. David sat on the ________________.
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  24. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?

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

Answer key

  1. jam — in traffic
  2. jam — to spread on bread
  3. rule — a law
  4. chest — of your body
  5. swing — in golf
  6. jam — a tight spot
  7. wake — a trail
  8. ground — crushed
  9. ground — the earth
  10. rule — to rule out
  11. content — happy
  12. content — the amount
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. wake — to stop sleeping
  15. net — in sport
  16. swing — music
  17. chest — of your body
  18. net — after costs
  19. ground — a position
  20. swing — to play on
  21. net — for catching
  22. chest — a box
  23. wake — before a funeral
  24. rule — government

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