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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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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 · land · degree · mark · arm · pitch · temple · bowl

  1. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  2. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  3. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  7. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  8. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  9. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  10. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  11. My father caught me by the ________________.
  12. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  13. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  17. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  18. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  19. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  20. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  21. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. When was this ________________ built?

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

Answer key

  1. mark — to pay attention
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. bowl — a dish
  4. degree — from a university
  5. land — to come down
  6. mark — a grade
  7. arm — a part of something
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. rule — a law
  10. bowl — to roll
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. mark — a trace
  13. rule — government
  14. land — ground
  15. land — a country
  16. pitch — a sales talk
  17. temple — side of the head
  18. bowl — a football final
  19. pitch — completely
  20. rule — to rule out
  21. pitch — a sports field
  22. degree — temperature
  23. degree — an amount
  24. temple — a place of worship

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