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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: hand · rush · tube · roll · jam · degree · wake · rock

  1. We're on a ________________ here.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  6. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  9. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. I'll be taking the ________________.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  14. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  15. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  16. That must've been a ________________.
  17. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  18. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  19. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  20. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  23. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  24. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — on a roll
  2. degree — from a university
  3. rush — to hurry
  4. hand — in cards
  5. rock — music
  6. rush — hurry
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. jam — in traffic
  9. roll — a cake
  10. degree — temperature
  11. tube — the underground
  12. hand — help
  13. jam — to spread on bread
  14. roll — a list
  15. rock — to move gently
  16. rush — a thrill
  17. tube — a container
  18. jam — a tight spot
  19. wake — before a funeral
  20. wake — to stop sleeping
  21. degree — an amount
  22. rock — a stone
  23. wake — a trail
  24. tube — in a tire

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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