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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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  4. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. Where did you ________________ them?
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  19. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  20. There's no middle ________________.
  21. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. The people resisted their cruel ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. ground — crushed
  3. safe — out of danger
  4. ruler — for measuring
  5. cold — an illness
  6. degree — from a university
  7. cold — not warm
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. ruler — for measuring
  10. bat — the animal
  11. ground — the earth
  12. safe — out of danger
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. mug — to rob
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. degree — temperature
  17. hand — help
  18. safe — a strongbox
  19. mug — a cup
  20. ground — a position
  21. mug — a face
  22. hand — in cards
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. ruler — a monarch

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