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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: trunk · row · date · rock · rash · degree · jam · file

  1. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  4. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  5. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  6. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  9. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  10. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  11. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. Don't do anything ________________.
  16. Have you settled on a ________________?
  17. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  20. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  21. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. file — a tool
  3. trunk — of a tree
  4. trunk — of a car
  5. jam — to spread on bread
  6. rash — a series
  7. file — a line of people
  8. trunk — of an elephant
  9. date — the fruit
  10. jam — a tight spot
  11. rock — a stone
  12. row — a line
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. file — a document
  15. rash — hasty
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. rock — to move gently
  18. degree — from a university
  19. rash — on the skin
  20. jam — in traffic
  21. rock — music
  22. row — to paddle
  23. degree — temperature
  24. date — on the calendar

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