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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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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 · perch · cell · hide · march · last · ruler · date

  1. He was locked up in a ________________.
  2. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  5. Have you settled on a ________________?
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  12. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  13. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  14. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  15. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  16. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  17. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  18. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  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. cell — in a prison
  2. ruler — a monarch
  3. march — music
  4. hide — animal skin
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. degree — from a university
  7. degree — an amount
  8. cell — in biology
  9. cell — a phone
  10. march — the month
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. perch — the fish
  16. ruler — for measuring
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. date — the fruit
  19. last — finally
  20. march — the month
  21. ruler — for measuring
  22. last — final
  23. last — to go on
  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