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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. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  5. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. That must've been a ________________.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  17. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  18. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  19. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  20. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. Would you like some apricot ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. jam — in traffic
  2. wind — moving air
  3. degree — temperature
  4. jam — a tight spot
  5. rush — to hurry
  6. band — a ring
  7. root — of a word
  8. clip — to cut
  9. wind — moving air
  10. clip — for paper
  11. degree — from a university
  12. root — of a plant
  13. clip — a video
  14. rush — a thrill
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. face — part of the head
  17. band — a music group
  18. face — to confront
  19. face — to point toward
  20. rush — hurry
  21. degree — an amount
  22. root — the cause
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. jam — to spread on bread

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