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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 116 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: degree · bear · bowl · rule · wind · land

  1. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  9. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  10. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  13. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  16. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  17. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. land — to come down
  3. bowl — a football final
  4. land — a country
  5. degree — from a university
  6. wind — moving air
  7. wind — moving air
  8. bowl — to roll
  9. bear — the animal
  10. rule — government
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. bowl — a dish
  13. rule — a law
  14. degree — an amount
  15. bear — the animal
  16. rule — to rule out
  17. bear — to put up with
  18. land — ground

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