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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: bat · degree · wind · racket · bear · ruler · ground · rush

  1. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  5. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  9. That must've been a ________________.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  24. He hit the ball with his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. rush — hurry
  3. degree — from a university
  4. bear — to put up with
  5. racket — a loud noise
  6. wind — moving air
  7. ground — crushed
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. rush — a thrill
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. ground — a position
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. ruler — for measuring
  14. degree — an amount
  15. ruler — for measuring
  16. wind — moving air
  17. rush — to hurry
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. bear — the animal
  20. ground — the earth
  21. bear — the animal
  22. degree — temperature
  23. ruler — a monarch
  24. racket — for tennis

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