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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. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  2. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  3. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  4. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  5. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  8. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  9. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  15. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  20. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  21. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  22. That must've been a ________________.
  23. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  24. There's no middle ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. jam — a tight spot
  2. trunk — of an elephant
  3. cap — a lid
  4. jam — to spread on bread
  5. object — an aim
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. cap — of ice
  8. cap — a hat
  9. object — to protest
  10. degree — an amount
  11. ground — the earth
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. ground — crushed
  15. rush — to hurry
  16. degree — temperature
  17. object — a thing
  18. degree — from a university
  19. trunk — of a tree
  20. rush — hurry
  21. trunk — of a car
  22. rush — a thrill
  23. jam — in traffic
  24. ground — a position

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