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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. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  2. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  3. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  6. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  7. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  8. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  9. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  12. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  13. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.

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

Answer key

  1. ruler — for measuring
  2. pitch — completely
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. trunk — of a tree
  6. branch — of a tree
  7. ruler — a monarch
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. trunk — of an elephant
  10. degree — temperature
  11. trunk — of a car
  12. branch — a division
  13. pitch — a sales talk
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. degree — an amount
  16. branch — of a bank
  17. degree — from a university
  18. fan — to cool the air
  19. cold — not warm
  20. pitch — a sports field
  21. cold — an illness
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. bat — the animal
  24. ruler — for measuring

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