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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: land · drill · rest · bass · kid · degree · ruler · club

  1. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  3. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  8. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  12. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  13. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  20. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  21. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  22. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  23. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  24. I would like to have a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. club — for golf
  3. ruler — a monarch
  4. land — ground
  5. degree — an amount
  6. degree — temperature
  7. ruler — for measuring
  8. rest — what's left
  9. land — to come down
  10. land — a country
  11. drill — the tool
  12. drill — a practice
  13. club — for dancing
  14. degree — from a university
  15. drill — army training
  16. club — a group
  17. kid — to tease
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. rest — what's left
  20. ruler — for measuring
  21. bass — the fish
  22. bass — low music
  23. bass — the instrument
  24. rest — a break

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