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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: rash · squash · jam · plane · degree · straw · pit · field

  1. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  6. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  9. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  12. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  13. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. Don't do anything ________________.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  20. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  23. The ________________ took off on time.
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. jam — a tight spot
  2. degree — from a university
  3. squash — to crush
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. pit — a fruit stone
  6. rash — on the skin
  7. degree — an amount
  8. squash — the vegetable
  9. squash — the sport
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. plane — in geometry
  12. jam — to spread on bread
  13. plane — a tool
  14. degree — temperature
  15. rash — hasty
  16. field — for sport
  17. jam — in traffic
  18. field — farmland
  19. rash — a series
  20. pit — a hole
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. pit — in a race
  23. plane — an aircraft
  24. field — a subject

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