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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: mouse · degree · race · pitch · mine · ruler

  1. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  3. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  6. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  7. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  11. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  18. The people resisted their cruel ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. mouse — the animal
  3. ruler — for measuring
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. mouse — for a computer
  6. pitch — a sales talk
  7. pitch — a sports field
  8. degree — from a university
  9. race — the arms race
  10. ruler — for measuring
  11. race — a contest
  12. degree — an amount
  13. mouse — the animal
  14. race — humankind
  15. degree — temperature
  16. mine — for digging
  17. pitch — completely
  18. ruler — a monarch

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