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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 116 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 university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  3. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  4. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  5. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  6. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  7. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  8. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  9. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  10. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  11. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  12. Don't do anything ________________.
  13. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  14. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  15. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  18. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  23. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. ruler — for measuring
  3. rock — music
  4. rock — to move gently
  5. ruler — for measuring
  6. track — a path
  7. track — to keep track
  8. rock — a stone
  9. rash — a series
  10. fine — a penalty
  11. bass — the fish
  12. rash — hasty
  13. rash — on the skin
  14. bass — low music
  15. fine — high quality
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. ruler — a monarch
  18. track — a song
  19. cold — an illness
  20. degree — an amount
  21. cold — not warm
  22. fine — all right
  23. bass — the instrument
  24. degree — temperature

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