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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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468
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: fall · jam · spring · stand · degree · straw · content · tube

  1. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  4. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. I can't ________________ this cold.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  14. I'll be taking the ________________.
  15. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  23. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  24. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. degree — an amount
  3. tube — a container
  4. jam — in traffic
  5. spring — a coil
  6. jam — a tight spot
  7. degree — temperature
  8. content — happy
  9. fall — to drop
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. stand — to bear
  12. spring — the season
  13. jam — to spread on bread
  14. tube — the underground
  15. stand — for spectators
  16. degree — from a university
  17. stand — on your feet
  18. content — the amount
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. fall — to drop
  23. tube — in a tire
  24. fall — the season

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