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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. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  9. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  10. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  11. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  12. Where did you ________________ them?
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  15. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  16. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  17. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  20. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  21. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  22. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. mug — a face
  3. degree — temperature
  4. degree — from a university
  5. bank — of a river
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. cold — an illness
  8. ruler — for measuring
  9. fall — to drop
  10. bank — for money
  11. fall — the season
  12. mug — to rob
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. fall — to drop
  15. bore — gave birth
  16. bore — to drill
  17. ruler — a monarch
  18. game — a match
  19. mug — a cup
  20. bore — to tire
  21. bank — for money
  22. ruler — for measuring
  23. degree — an amount
  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