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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. The ________________ took off on time.
  5. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  6. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  7. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  8. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  14. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. He is an ace ________________.
  18. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  23. He was locked up in a ________________.
  24. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. degree — from a university
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. plane — an aircraft
  5. ruler — for measuring
  6. lie — an untruth
  7. ruler — a monarch
  8. lie — to recline
  9. cold — not warm
  10. plane — a tool
  11. row — to paddle
  12. cell — in biology
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. plane — in geometry
  15. cell — a phone
  16. degree — an amount
  17. pitcher — in baseball
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. row — a line
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. degree — temperature
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. cell — in a prison
  24. ruler — for measuring

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