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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.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
468
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 · trunk · jam · ball · cold · tube · fine · fall

  1. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  3. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  4. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  5. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  6. I'll be taking the ________________.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  9. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  13. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  14. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  15. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  16. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  20. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  21. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  22. The King held a masked ________________.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. The kitten curled into a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. jam — a tight spot
  3. jam — to spread on bread
  4. trunk — of a car
  5. fine — a penalty
  6. tube — the underground
  7. cold — not warm
  8. fine — all right
  9. trunk — of an elephant
  10. degree — an amount
  11. degree — temperature
  12. tube — in a tire
  13. ball — a great time
  14. fine — high quality
  15. tube — a container
  16. fall — to drop
  17. fall — the season
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. trunk — of a tree
  20. fall — to drop
  21. jam — in traffic
  22. ball — a dance
  23. degree — from a university
  24. ball — a round shape

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