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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: saw · tube · jam · degree · court · arm · clip · can

  1. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  2. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  3. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  4. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  5. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. He works in a ________________ mill.
  10. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. My father caught me by the ________________.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  20. She's very handy with a ________________.
  21. I'll be taking the ________________.
  22. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.

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

Answer key

  1. jam — a tight spot
  2. tube — in a tire
  3. tube — a container
  4. can — a tin
  5. arm — a part of something
  6. court — of law
  7. jam — in traffic
  8. court — for sport
  9. saw — the tool
  10. saw — past of 'see'
  11. clip — for paper
  12. clip — a video
  13. clip — to cut
  14. can — to be able to
  15. degree — temperature
  16. court — of a king
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. degree — from a university
  19. jam — to spread on bread
  20. saw — the tool
  21. tube — the underground
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. degree — an amount
  24. can — a tin

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