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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 120 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: bear · row · racket · rule · degree · pit

  1. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  2. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  3. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  4. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  5. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  12. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  13. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  18. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — the animal
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. pit — a hole
  4. racket — a loud noise
  5. pit — in a race
  6. row — a line
  7. rule — government
  8. degree — an amount
  9. rule — a law
  10. row — to paddle
  11. bear — to put up with
  12. rule — to rule out
  13. pit — a fruit stone
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. degree — from a university
  16. degree — temperature
  17. bear — the animal
  18. racket — for tennis

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