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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: land · cue · ruler · degree · pop · spring · wound · board

  1. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  6. We're almost out of ________________.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  9. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  12. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  20. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. You don't need to ________________ round.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. spring — of water
  3. board — to get on
  4. degree — an amount
  5. ruler — a monarch
  6. pop — soda
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. board — a flat piece
  9. ruler — for measuring
  10. land — to come down
  11. board — a committee
  12. pop — music
  13. land — a country
  14. land — ground
  15. spring — the season
  16. wound — an injury
  17. cue — a hint
  18. spring — a coil
  19. cue — for pool
  20. ruler — for measuring
  21. wound — an injury
  22. pop — to visit
  23. degree — from a university
  24. cue — a signal

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