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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. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  5. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. David sat on the ________________.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  13. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  14. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  15. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. That was ________________ to happen.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  24. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.

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

Answer key

  1. ruler — for measuring
  2. cold — not warm
  3. last — final
  4. file — a document
  5. ruler — for measuring
  6. degree — an amount
  7. swing — to play on
  8. cold — an illness
  9. file — a tool
  10. swing — music
  11. file — a line of people
  12. bear — the animal
  13. bear — to put up with
  14. swing — in golf
  15. bound — obliged
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. bound — certain
  18. last — finally
  19. last — to go on
  20. bear — the animal
  21. degree — from a university
  22. degree — temperature
  23. ruler — a monarch
  24. bound — tied together

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