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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: fan · ruler · trunk · foot · pit · cold · ball · degree

  1. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  2. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  3. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  4. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  5. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  6. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  7. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  11. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  18. The King held a masked ________________.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  21. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  22. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  23. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  24. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. pit — in a race
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. foot — the bottom
  5. fan — to cool the air
  6. pit — a fruit stone
  7. ruler — for measuring
  8. cold — not warm
  9. cold — an illness
  10. pit — a hole
  11. foot — a measure
  12. degree — from a university
  13. ball — a round shape
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. degree — an amount
  17. trunk — of a car
  18. ball — a dance
  19. degree — temperature
  20. trunk — of an elephant
  21. ruler — a monarch
  22. ball — a great time
  23. foot — part of the body
  24. ruler — for measuring

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