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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: tear · rush · toast · bat · degree · ruler

  1. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  7. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  15. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  16. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  17. That must've been a ________________.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. toast — the most admired
  3. degree — an amount
  4. degree — from a university
  5. tear — from crying
  6. rush — hurry
  7. rush — to hurry
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. ruler — for measuring
  10. tear — from crying
  11. ruler — a monarch
  12. bat — the animal
  13. tear — to rip
  14. toast — bread
  15. toast — a drink to someone
  16. ruler — for measuring
  17. rush — a thrill
  18. degree — temperature

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