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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: rule · can · board · tear · degree · pitch · land · shower

  1. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  5. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  6. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  9. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  12. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  13. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  14. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  24. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. degree — from a university
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. can — to be able to
  5. rule — a law
  6. can — a tin
  7. shower — rain
  8. rule — to rule out
  9. board — to get on
  10. tear — to rip
  11. pitch — a sales talk
  12. pitch — a sports field
  13. rule — government
  14. pitch — completely
  15. shower — to wash
  16. degree — temperature
  17. tear — from crying
  18. land — to come down
  19. board — a flat piece
  20. tear — from crying
  21. degree — an amount
  22. land — a country
  23. can — a tin
  24. board — a committee

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