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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: pit · degree · plane · ground · date · land · current · jam

  1. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  3. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  4. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  7. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  10. The ________________ took off on time.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  13. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  14. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  17. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  18. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. Have you settled on a ________________?
  21. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. date — the fruit
  4. pit — a fruit stone
  5. ground — a position
  6. current — happening now
  7. pit — a hole
  8. land — ground
  9. current — of water
  10. plane — an aircraft
  11. land — to come down
  12. plane — a tool
  13. jam — a tight spot
  14. current — electric
  15. degree — temperature
  16. plane — in geometry
  17. jam — to spread on bread
  18. ground — crushed
  19. ground — the earth
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. pit — in a race
  22. degree — from a university
  23. land — a country
  24. jam — in traffic

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