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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: scale · squash · degree · toast · rock · cold · jam · patient

  1. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  2. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  3. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  4. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  5. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  6. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  7. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  14. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  15. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  16. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  19. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  20. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  21. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  24. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.

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

Answer key

  1. jam — to spread on bread
  2. toast — bread
  3. rock — music
  4. rock — to move gently
  5. scale — for weighing
  6. scale — size or range
  7. jam — a tight spot
  8. squash — the sport
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. cold — not warm
  11. degree — an amount
  12. degree — temperature
  13. jam — in traffic
  14. patient — calm and waiting
  15. rock — a stone
  16. toast — a drink to someone
  17. cold — an illness
  18. squash — the vegetable
  19. scale — in music
  20. squash — to crush
  21. toast — the most admired
  22. degree — from a university
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. patient — a sick person

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