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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: wave · chest · land · mark · degree · march · ruler · pound

  1. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  13. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  18. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  22. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. chest — of your body
  3. degree — an amount
  4. mark — a trace
  5. march — music
  6. wave — of the sea
  7. march — the month
  8. ruler — a monarch
  9. land — ground
  10. pound — to hit hard
  11. land — a country
  12. pound — a weight
  13. wave — with your hand
  14. degree — from a university
  15. mark — to pay attention
  16. chest — a box
  17. pound — for dogs
  18. ruler — for measuring
  19. land — to come down
  20. chest — of your body
  21. ruler — for measuring
  22. mark — a grade
  23. march — the month
  24. wave — a sudden rise

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