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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: date · chair · squash · wound · degree · foot · bay · jam

  1. Have you settled on a ________________?
  2. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  3. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  4. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  5. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  6. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  7. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  10. My mare is ________________ in color.
  11. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  12. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  13. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  19. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  20. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  23. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. date — the fruit
  3. foot — a measure
  4. bay — a part of the sea
  5. jam — in traffic
  6. jam — to spread on bread
  7. squash — the sport
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. squash — the vegetable
  10. bay — a horse colour
  11. bay — to keep at bay
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. foot — the bottom
  14. degree — temperature
  15. chair — a leader
  16. degree — an amount
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. foot — part of the body
  19. squash — to crush
  20. chair — to sit on
  21. wound — an injury
  22. jam — a tight spot
  23. wound — an injury
  24. degree — from a university

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