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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: field · snap · squash · hand · jam · object · degree · wind

  1. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  19. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  22. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  23. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  24. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?

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

Answer key

  1. jam — a tight spot
  2. wind — moving air
  3. squash — to crush
  4. degree — an amount
  5. jam — in traffic
  6. hand — in cards
  7. hand — help
  8. object — a thing
  9. field — for sport
  10. squash — the sport
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. wind — moving air
  13. field — a subject
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. snap — to speak sharply
  16. degree — from a university
  17. field — farmland
  18. snap — to snap out of it
  19. squash — the vegetable
  20. degree — temperature
  21. object — an aim
  22. snap — to click
  23. jam — to spread on bread
  24. object — to protest

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