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

Word bank: degree · key · rule · ruler · deal · trunk

  1. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  2. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  5. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  6. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  7. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  8. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  9. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  10. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  11. This piece is in a major ________________.
  12. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  13. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  18. 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. key — the most important part
  2. key — for a lock
  3. degree — an amount
  4. trunk — of a car
  5. trunk — of a tree
  6. trunk — of an elephant
  7. deal — a big deal
  8. deal — to handle
  9. ruler — for measuring
  10. rule — a law
  11. key — in music
  12. rule — to rule out
  13. ruler — a monarch
  14. degree — temperature
  15. deal — an agreement
  16. degree — from a university
  17. rule — government
  18. 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