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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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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: rule · mouse · pitcher · race · march · degree

  1. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  2. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  12. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  13. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. He is an ace ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. mouse — the animal
  3. march — the month
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. march — music
  6. degree — an amount
  7. rule — to rule out
  8. race — humankind
  9. mouse — for a computer
  10. degree — temperature
  11. rule — a law
  12. rule — government
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. race — the arms race
  15. degree — from a university
  16. race — a contest
  17. march — the month
  18. pitcher — in 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