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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 · bound · degree · date · ruler · cell · shower · rest

  1. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  2. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  3. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  4. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  5. Have you settled on a ________________?
  6. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  9. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  10. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. That was ________________ to happen.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  18. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  23. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  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. rest — what's left
  2. bound — obliged
  3. bound — tied together
  4. ruler — for measuring
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. ruler — a monarch
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. can — to be able to
  9. can — a tin
  10. rest — a break
  11. cell — a phone
  12. shower — to wash
  13. bound — certain
  14. degree — an amount
  15. degree — from a university
  16. shower — rain
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. date — the fruit
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. ruler — for measuring
  21. cell — in biology
  22. can — a tin
  23. rest — what's left
  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