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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 120 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. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  2. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  3. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  9. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  13. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  14. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  19. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  20. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  21. Where did you ________________ them?
  22. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.

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

Answer key

  1. ruler — a monarch
  2. fall — the season
  3. ruler — for measuring
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. mug — a face
  6. degree — an amount
  7. degree — from a university
  8. scale — for weighing
  9. pit — in a race
  10. spring — the season
  11. spring — of water
  12. pit — a fruit stone
  13. pit — a hole
  14. fall — to drop
  15. kid — to tease
  16. spring — a coil
  17. degree — temperature
  18. ruler — for measuring
  19. mug — a cup
  20. scale — size or range
  21. mug — to rob
  22. scale — in music
  23. kid — child
  24. fall — to drop

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