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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: file · ruler · kid · degree · cap · last · racket · stick

  1. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  2. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  9. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  10. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  13. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  18. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  23. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  24. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. file — a line of people
  3. last — finally
  4. degree — temperature
  5. cap — a hat
  6. last — final
  7. kid — child
  8. cap — of ice
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. cap — a lid
  11. kid — to tease
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. ruler — for measuring
  14. degree — an amount
  15. last — to go on
  16. file — a document
  17. ruler — a monarch
  18. racket — a loud noise
  19. file — a tool
  20. degree — from a university
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. ruler — for measuring
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. stick — to attach or keep to

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