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

  1. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  2. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  3. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. The ________________ took off on time.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  10. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  11. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  16. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.

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

Answer key

  1. jam — in traffic
  2. wound — past of 'wind'
  3. jam — a tight spot
  4. chest — a box
  5. degree — temperature
  6. plane — an aircraft
  7. wound — an injury
  8. chest — of your body
  9. jam — to spread on bread
  10. branch — of a bank
  11. plane — a tool
  12. degree — an amount
  13. chest — of your body
  14. degree — from a university
  15. plane — in geometry
  16. branch — a division
  17. wound — an injury
  18. branch — of a tree

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