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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: ground · ruler · shower · file · suit · degree · kid · face

  1. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  7. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. There's no middle ________________.
  13. When will it ________________ you to start?
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  17. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  18. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  24. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. shower — rain
  3. degree — an amount
  4. degree — temperature
  5. ground — crushed
  6. ruler — a monarch
  7. face — to point toward
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. ruler — for measuring
  10. file — a document
  11. kid — child
  12. ground — a position
  13. suit — to fit
  14. file — a tool
  15. degree — from a university
  16. suit — in cards
  17. suit — clothes
  18. face — to confront
  19. file — a line of people
  20. ground — the earth
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. kid — to tease
  23. face — part of the head
  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