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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.

Make a worksheet

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: lash · perch · bass · content · wind · degree · jam · press

  1. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  4. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  5. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  8. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  12. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  15. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. Did you ________________ the button?
  20. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  23. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  24. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.

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

Answer key

  1. jam — a tight spot
  2. degree — from a university
  3. lash — a whip stroke
  4. lash — to lash out
  5. bass — the instrument
  6. degree — temperature
  7. bass — low music
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. content — happy
  10. degree — an amount
  11. press — a publisher
  12. jam — to spread on bread
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. lash — an eyelash
  15. bass — the fish
  16. content — the amount
  17. wind — moving air
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. press — to push
  20. jam — in traffic
  21. wind — moving air
  22. press — newspapers
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. perch — the fish

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