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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: land · track · degree · straw · press · jam · prune · band

  1. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  4. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  10. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  11. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  12. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  13. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  18. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  19. Did you ________________ the button?
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. jam — in traffic
  4. track — to keep track
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. press — a publisher
  7. land — ground
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. jam — a tight spot
  10. prune — to trim
  11. jam — to spread on bread
  12. band — a music group
  13. track — a song
  14. band — a ring
  15. land — to come down
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. prune — to trim
  18. track — a path
  19. press — to push
  20. degree — from a university
  21. degree — an amount
  22. press — newspapers
  23. land — a country
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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