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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: perch · content · ground · saw · jam · current · degree · pop

  1. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  3. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  4. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  5. You don't need to ________________ round.
  6. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. She's very handy with a ________________.
  9. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  10. We're almost out of ________________.
  11. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. He works in a ________________ mill.
  18. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  23. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  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. degree — from a university
  2. saw — past of 'see'
  3. ground — the earth
  4. jam — in traffic
  5. pop — to visit
  6. pop — music
  7. degree — an amount
  8. saw — the tool
  9. jam — to spread on bread
  10. pop — soda
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. content — happy
  13. current — of water
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. ground — crushed
  16. ground — a position
  17. saw — the tool
  18. current — happening now
  19. content — the amount
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. degree — temperature
  22. current — electric
  23. jam — a tight spot
  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