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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. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  2. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  3. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  4. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  5. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  8. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  9. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  15. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  16. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  19. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  20. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  21. It's one o'clock ________________.
  22. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  23. That must've been a ________________.
  24. He hit the ball with his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. jam — to spread on bread
  2. lean — to rest against
  3. lean — to bend
  4. rush — hurry
  5. jam — a tight spot
  6. cell — a phone
  7. rush — to hurry
  8. jam — in traffic
  9. racket — a loud noise
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. cell — in biology
  12. degree — temperature
  13. degree — an amount
  14. kick — with a leg
  15. lean — thin
  16. sharp — clever
  17. degree — from a university
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. kick — a thrill
  20. kick — in football
  21. sharp — exactly
  22. sharp — with an edge
  23. rush — a thrill
  24. racket — for tennis

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