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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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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: degree · ruler · stock · field · tube · jam · date · mate

  1. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  2. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  3. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  4. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  5. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  6. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  7. I'll be taking the ________________.
  8. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  12. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  13. Have you settled on a ________________?
  14. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  15. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  16. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  19. Have you found your soul ________________?
  20. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. The ________________ market has crashed.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. jam — to spread on bread
  2. tube — in a tire
  3. stock — a soup base
  4. stock — goods
  5. ruler — a monarch
  6. date — the fruit
  7. tube — the underground
  8. ruler — for measuring
  9. degree — temperature
  10. degree — an amount
  11. tube — a container
  12. jam — a tight spot
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. jam — in traffic
  15. mate — a friend
  16. mate — to breed
  17. degree — from a university
  18. ruler — for measuring
  19. mate — a partner
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. field — a subject
  22. stock — shares
  23. field — farmland
  24. field — for sport

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