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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: straw · degree · plane · nail · jam · patient · file · ball

  1. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. The King held a masked ________________.
  6. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  9. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  10. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. The ________________ went through the wall.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  18. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  21. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  22. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  23. The ________________ took off on time.
  24. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — dry grass
  2. degree — from a university
  3. jam — to spread on bread
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. ball — a dance
  6. nail — on a finger
  7. degree — an amount
  8. ball — a round shape
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. ball — a great time
  11. file — a line of people
  12. patient — calm and waiting
  13. degree — temperature
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. file — a document
  17. jam — a tight spot
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. file — a tool
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. jam — in traffic
  22. plane — in geometry
  23. plane — an aircraft
  24. plane — a tool

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