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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 · rock · stick · field · lash · jam · degree · content

  1. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  7. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  8. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  9. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  10. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  14. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  17. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  22. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  23. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  24. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. content — happy
  3. field — farmland
  4. lash — a whip stroke
  5. content — the amount
  6. rule — a law
  7. jam — in traffic
  8. jam — a tight spot
  9. rock — to move gently
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. degree — from a university
  12. field — for sport
  13. stick — to attach or keep to
  14. rock — music
  15. degree — temperature
  16. rule — government
  17. lash — an eyelash
  18. field — a subject
  19. rock — a stone
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. stick — a piece of wood
  22. jam — to spread on bread
  23. lash — to lash out
  24. rule — to rule out

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