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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: degree · tear · temple · squash · bat · ruler · court · season

  1. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  4. When was this ________________ built?
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  10. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  13. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  17. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  18. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. Did you ________________ the meat?

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. season — in sport
  4. temple — a place of worship
  5. degree — an amount
  6. squash — the vegetable
  7. court — of a king
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. temple — side of the head
  10. ruler — for measuring
  11. court — for sport
  12. squash — the sport
  13. ruler — a monarch
  14. tear — from crying
  15. bat — the animal
  16. squash — to crush
  17. season — of the year
  18. ruler — for measuring
  19. tear — to rip
  20. tear — from crying
  21. degree — temperature
  22. court — of law
  23. degree — from a university
  24. season — to add flavour

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