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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. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  5. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  10. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  14. That must've been a ________________.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  20. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. You shouldn't ________________ things.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. last — finally
  3. last — to go on
  4. ruler — a monarch
  5. ruler — for measuring
  6. hand — help
  7. rush — hurry
  8. land — to come down
  9. ruler — for measuring
  10. pound — to hit hard
  11. degree — an amount
  12. land — ground
  13. drill — the tool
  14. rush — a thrill
  15. land — a country
  16. last — final
  17. drill — army training
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. drill — a practice
  20. pound — for dogs
  21. degree — from a university
  22. pound — a weight
  23. hand — in cards
  24. rush — to hurry

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