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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: ruler · bark · saw · degree · bound · date · last · hand

  1. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. Have you settled on a ________________?
  3. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  6. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  7. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  10. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  11. She's very handy with a ________________.
  12. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. He works in a ________________ mill.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. That was ________________ to happen.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. date — the fruit
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. bound — tied together
  7. bound — obliged
  8. degree — an amount
  9. ruler — for measuring
  10. saw — past of 'see'
  11. saw — the tool
  12. ruler — a monarch
  13. bark — to shout
  14. last — finally
  15. saw — the tool
  16. hand — in cards
  17. degree — temperature
  18. bound — certain
  19. hand — help
  20. last — final
  21. bark — of a tree
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. ruler — for measuring
  24. last — to go on

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