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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: rest · hand · jam · degree · lean · pitcher · game · march

  1. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  8. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  9. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  10. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  11. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  12. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  13. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  16. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. He is an ace ________________.
  19. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. jam — to spread on bread
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. march — music
  6. degree — from a university
  7. rest — what's left
  8. rest — what's left
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. lean — to rest against
  11. jam — in traffic
  12. rest — a break
  13. lean — to bend
  14. hand — help
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. jam — a tight spot
  17. game — wild animals
  18. pitcher — in baseball
  19. lean — thin
  20. game — a match
  21. degree — an amount
  22. march — the month
  23. hand — in cards
  24. march — the month

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