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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. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. That was ________________ to happen.
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  7. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  8. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  19. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. jam — a tight spot
  2. kid — child
  3. bound — certain
  4. prune — to trim
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. club — a group
  7. club — for golf
  8. jam — to spread on bread
  9. field — farmland
  10. degree — temperature
  11. field — for sport
  12. bound — obliged
  13. kid — to tease
  14. game — wild animals
  15. degree — from a university
  16. jam — in traffic
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. club — for dancing
  19. bound — tied together
  20. field — a subject
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. prune — to trim
  23. degree — an amount
  24. game — a match

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