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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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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 · date · drill · kid · roll · tear · degree · ruler

  1. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  9. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  15. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  16. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  17. We're on a ________________ here.
  18. Have you settled on a ________________?
  19. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  20. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  23. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  24. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. rule — a law
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. tear — from crying
  5. ruler — for measuring
  6. kid — to tease
  7. degree — an amount
  8. ruler — a monarch
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. degree — temperature
  11. roll — a cake
  12. kid — child
  13. tear — to rip
  14. drill — army training
  15. rule — government
  16. rule — to rule out
  17. roll — on a roll
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. drill — the tool
  20. roll — a list
  21. tear — from crying
  22. drill — a practice
  23. ruler — for measuring
  24. date — the fruit

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