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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. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  2. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  12. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  13. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  16. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  22. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ruler — for measuring
  2. trunk — of a tree
  3. capital — a city
  4. degree — from a university
  5. shower — to wash
  6. degree — temperature
  7. bowl — a football final
  8. shower — rain
  9. degree — an amount
  10. wake — a trail
  11. ruler — for measuring
  12. bowl — to roll
  13. trunk — of a car
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. ruler — a monarch
  16. wake — to stop sleeping
  17. cold — an illness
  18. wake — before a funeral
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. trunk — of an elephant
  22. bowl — a dish
  23. capital — money
  24. cold — not warm

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