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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. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  12. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  15. That was ________________ to happen.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  20. It's one o'clock ________________.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  23. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. ruler — for measuring
  2. degree — temperature
  3. field — for sport
  4. cold — not warm
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. ruler — a monarch
  8. prune — to trim
  9. degree — an amount
  10. degree — from a university
  11. sharp — clever
  12. ruler — for measuring
  13. hand — help
  14. sharp — with an edge
  15. bound — certain
  16. hand — in cards
  17. bound — tied together
  18. field — farmland
  19. bound — obliged
  20. sharp — exactly
  21. cold — an illness
  22. prune — to trim
  23. prune — the fruit
  24. field — a subject

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