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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. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  4. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  11. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  17. My father caught me by the ________________.
  18. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  19. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  20. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  21. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  22. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  23. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. jam — a tight spot
  2. field — farmland
  3. current — happening now
  4. current — electric
  5. field — for sport
  6. degree — an amount
  7. jam — to spread on bread
  8. kid — to tease
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. wax — for sculpting
  12. kid — child
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. degree — temperature
  15. field — a subject
  16. rock — to move gently
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. wax — to grow
  19. jam — in traffic
  20. current — of water
  21. arm — a part of something
  22. rock — music
  23. rock — a stone
  24. degree — from a university

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