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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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Word bank
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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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. This piece is in a major ________________.
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. tear — from crying
  3. ruler — for measuring
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. ruler — for measuring
  6. game — wild animals
  7. cell — a phone
  8. tear — from crying
  9. game — a match
  10. tear — to rip
  11. degree — temperature
  12. degree — from a university
  13. chest — of your body
  14. ruler — a monarch
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. key — the most important part
  17. degree — an amount
  18. chest — a box
  19. key — in music
  20. chest — of your body
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. key — for a lock
  24. cell — in biology

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