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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: degree · hand · jam · rush · pound · season · trunk · pitcher

  1. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  3. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. Did you ________________ the meat?
  8. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  9. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  12. He is an ace ________________.
  13. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  14. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  17. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  18. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  19. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  20. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  21. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  22. That must've been a ________________.
  23. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. pound — a weight
  3. season — of the year
  4. degree — temperature
  5. hand — help
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. season — to add flavour
  8. rush — to hurry
  9. pound — for dogs
  10. degree — from a university
  11. jam — in traffic
  12. pitcher — in baseball
  13. trunk — of a car
  14. season — in sport
  15. hand — in cards
  16. pound — to hit hard
  17. trunk — of an elephant
  18. trunk — of a tree
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. jam — a tight spot
  21. rush — hurry
  22. rush — a thrill
  23. jam — to spread on bread
  24. hand — 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