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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: rule · degree · shower · straw · content · safe · snap · jam

  1. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  8. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  15. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  18. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. jam — a tight spot
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. safe — out of danger
  5. degree — temperature
  6. degree — from a university
  7. rule — to rule out
  8. snap — to snap out of it
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. rule — government
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. jam — to spread on bread
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. jam — in traffic
  15. safe — out of danger
  16. degree — an amount
  17. safe — a strongbox
  18. snap — to click
  19. shower — rain
  20. content — the amount
  21. shower — to wash
  22. rule — a law
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. snap — to speak sharply

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