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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: spring · jam · firm · drill · degree · sharp · chest · hide

  1. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  4. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. It's one o'clock ________________.
  11. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  14. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  17. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  18. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  21. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  22. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  23. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  24. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. spring — the season
  3. jam — a tight spot
  4. drill — army training
  5. spring — of water
  6. degree — temperature
  7. jam — to spread on bread
  8. chest — a box
  9. chest — of your body
  10. sharp — exactly
  11. drill — the tool
  12. chest — of your body
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. degree — from a university
  16. firm — decided
  17. sharp — with an edge
  18. sharp — clever
  19. spring — a coil
  20. jam — in traffic
  21. drill — a practice
  22. firm — a company
  23. firm — steady
  24. hide — animal skin

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