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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: can · row · mine · degree · ruler · file · game · ground

  1. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. There's no middle ________________.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  9. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  16. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  17. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. ruler — a monarch
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. degree — from a university
  4. ruler — for measuring
  5. game — wild animals
  6. ground — a position
  7. mine — for digging
  8. ruler — for measuring
  9. can — to be able to
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. row — a line
  12. file — a line of people
  13. degree — an amount
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. can — a tin
  16. can — a tin
  17. ground — crushed
  18. row — to paddle
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. game — a match
  21. file — a tool
  22. ground — the earth
  23. file — a document
  24. degree — temperature

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