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

Word bank: press · pound · rest · content · craft · plane · jam · degree

  1. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  3. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  4. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  5. The ________________ took off on time.
  6. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  7. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  8. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  9. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. Did you ________________ the button?
  14. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  15. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  18. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  21. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  22. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  23. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  24. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. jam — a tight spot
  3. pound — a weight
  4. craft — boats
  5. plane — an aircraft
  6. craft — a skill
  7. jam — in traffic
  8. rest — what's left
  9. press — newspapers
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. content — happy
  12. degree — an amount
  13. press — to push
  14. pound — for dogs
  15. jam — to spread on bread
  16. degree — from a university
  17. rest — a break
  18. craft — a handicraft
  19. content — the amount
  20. pound — to hit hard
  21. plane — in geometry
  22. rest — what's left
  23. press — a publisher
  24. plane — a tool

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