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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 · cell · wound · rock · rule · field · jam · toast

  1. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  3. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  4. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  21. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  22. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. Would you like some apricot ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. wound — an injury
  3. jam — a tight spot
  4. rule — government
  5. cell — a phone
  6. jam — in traffic
  7. field — for sport
  8. degree — temperature
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. cell — in biology
  11. toast — bread
  12. degree — an amount
  13. wound — an injury
  14. rule — a law
  15. field — a subject
  16. rock — to move gently
  17. degree — from a university
  18. toast — the most admired
  19. field — farmland
  20. rock — a stone
  21. toast — a drink to someone
  22. rule — to rule out
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. jam — to spread on bread

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