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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 120 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: bat · trunk · ruler · mine · cold · pitcher · board · degree

  1. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  3. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  6. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  10. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  13. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  19. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. He is an ace ________________.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. ruler — for measuring
  3. board — to get on
  4. mine — for digging
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. board — a flat piece
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. degree — an amount
  9. trunk — of an elephant
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. degree — from a university
  12. trunk — of a tree
  13. ruler — for measuring
  14. cold — not warm
  15. bat — the animal
  16. board — a committee
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. ruler — a monarch
  19. trunk — of a car
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. pitcher — in baseball
  22. cold — an illness
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. mine — an explosive

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