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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: shower · rock · chest · craft · spring · mug · jam · degree

  1. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  2. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  3. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  4. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  5. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  13. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  16. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  19. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. Where did you ________________ them?

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. mug — a cup
  3. craft — a skill
  4. jam — a tight spot
  5. craft — a handicraft
  6. spring — the season
  7. shower — to wash
  8. degree — an amount
  9. degree — from a university
  10. craft — boats
  11. degree — temperature
  12. jam — to spread on bread
  13. mug — a face
  14. spring — of water
  15. jam — in traffic
  16. rock — to move gently
  17. chest — of your body
  18. rock — a stone
  19. rock — music
  20. chest — a box
  21. spring — a coil
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. shower — rain
  24. mug — to rob

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