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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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468
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: tear · land · bore · scale · cold · hand · ruler · degree

  1. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  18. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  19. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — in music
  2. hand — help
  3. ruler — a monarch
  4. degree — temperature
  5. land — a country
  6. land — to come down
  7. cold — an illness
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. degree — an amount
  10. scale — size or range
  11. tear — from crying
  12. ruler — for measuring
  13. tear — to rip
  14. ruler — for measuring
  15. land — ground
  16. hand — in cards
  17. bore — to tire
  18. scale — for weighing
  19. bore — gave birth
  20. degree — from a university
  21. cold — not warm
  22. bore — to drill
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. tear — from crying

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