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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: ruler · kick · chest · shower · degree · fork

  1. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  3. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  4. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  17. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  18. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. fork — in a road
  3. ruler — a monarch
  4. ruler — for measuring
  5. degree — temperature
  6. ruler — for measuring
  7. chest — of your body
  8. degree — an amount
  9. shower — to wash
  10. fork — a garden tool
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. chest — of your body
  13. chest — a box
  14. kick — with a leg
  15. shower — rain
  16. kick — a thrill
  17. fork — to eat with
  18. kick — in football

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