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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 116 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 · march · bass · bat · degree · lie · cap · kid

  1. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  4. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  14. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  15. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  16. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  19. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. ruler — for measuring
  5. march — the month
  6. bass — the fish
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. ruler — a monarch
  9. degree — temperature
  10. bass — low music
  11. degree — an amount
  12. kid — to tease
  13. cap — of ice
  14. bass — the instrument
  15. cap — a lid
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. degree — from a university
  18. lie — to recline
  19. cap — a hat
  20. bat — the animal
  21. ruler — for measuring
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. march — the month
  24. march — music

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