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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: bat · wound · tear · ruler · bank · degree

  1. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  8. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  9. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  10. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. ruler — for measuring
  2. bat — the animal
  3. degree — temperature
  4. ruler — a monarch
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. wound — an injury
  7. bank — for money
  8. bank — of a river
  9. ruler — for measuring
  10. bank — for money
  11. wound — an injury
  12. tear — from crying
  13. degree — from a university
  14. tear — from crying
  15. degree — an amount
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. tear — to rip
  18. bat — for baseball

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