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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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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: march · row · sharp · ruler · degree · charge · hand · spell

  1. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  3. It's one o'clock ________________.
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  9. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  10. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  13. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. The tickets are free of ________________.
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  18. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  22. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. ruler — for measuring
  3. sharp — exactly
  4. march — the month
  5. degree — from a university
  6. spell — letters
  7. hand — in cards
  8. spell — a short time
  9. ruler — a monarch
  10. sharp — clever
  11. degree — temperature
  12. ruler — for measuring
  13. charge — electricity
  14. hand — help
  15. charge — a price
  16. row — to paddle
  17. sharp — with an edge
  18. charge — in control
  19. march — music
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. spell — magic
  22. row — a line
  23. march — the month
  24. degree — an amount

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