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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: perch · shower · drill · foot · degree · ruler · mine · lie

  1. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  4. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  9. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  10. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  11. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  12. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  13. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  17. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  18. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  22. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. The people resisted their cruel ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. shower — to wash
  3. ruler — for measuring
  4. perch — the fish
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. lie — to recline
  7. shower — rain
  8. drill — a practice
  9. foot — the bottom
  10. drill — the tool
  11. ruler — for measuring
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. degree — temperature
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. foot — a measure
  17. drill — army training
  18. foot — part of the body
  19. degree — an amount
  20. mine — for digging
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. ruler — a monarch

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