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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: degree · rock · trunk · pound · rash · cold · hide · jam

  1. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  5. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  10. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  11. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. Don't do anything ________________.
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  16. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  17. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  20. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  21. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  22. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  23. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  24. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.

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

Answer key

  1. jam — in traffic
  2. degree — from a university
  3. cold — an illness
  4. trunk — of a car
  5. pound — a weight
  6. degree — an amount
  7. rash — a series
  8. cold — not warm
  9. jam — to spread on bread
  10. rash — on the skin
  11. rock — music
  12. degree — temperature
  13. rash — hasty
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. pound — to hit hard
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. jam — a tight spot
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. rock — to move gently
  21. rock — a stone
  22. pound — for dogs
  23. trunk — of an elephant
  24. hide — animal skin

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