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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: saw · game · pop · degree · jam · face · hand · rush

  1. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  5. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  6. We're almost out of ________________.
  7. That must've been a ________________.
  8. He works in a ________________ mill.
  9. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  10. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  16. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  17. She's very handy with a ________________.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  20. You don't need to ________________ round.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  24. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to point toward
  2. game — wild animals
  3. degree — temperature
  4. jam — in traffic
  5. rush — to hurry
  6. pop — soda
  7. rush — a thrill
  8. saw — the tool
  9. pop — music
  10. rush — hurry
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. game — a match
  13. degree — from a university
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. jam — a tight spot
  16. face — to confront
  17. saw — the tool
  18. hand — in cards
  19. face — part of the head
  20. pop — to visit
  21. degree — an amount
  22. hand — help
  23. jam — to spread on bread
  24. saw — past of 'see'

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