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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: cell · roll · jam · sharp · bear · degree · squash · arm

  1. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  2. We're on a ________________ here.
  3. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  4. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  5. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  8. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  9. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  15. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  16. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  19. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  20. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. My father caught me by the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — a cake
  2. roll — on a roll
  3. sharp — with an edge
  4. arm — a part of something
  5. squash — to crush
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. jam — a tight spot
  8. jam — in traffic
  9. bear — the animal
  10. cell — in biology
  11. degree — from a university
  12. squash — the sport
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. jam — to spread on bread
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. bear — to put up with
  17. cell — a phone
  18. roll — a list
  19. squash — the vegetable
  20. bear — the animal
  21. degree — temperature
  22. sharp — clever
  23. degree — an amount
  24. arm — part of the body

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