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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: wind · march · degree · ruler · lie · bank · pop · jam

  1. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  5. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  9. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  10. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  11. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  12. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  13. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. We're almost out of ________________.
  17. You don't need to ________________ round.
  18. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  19. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  24. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. wind — moving air
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. bank — for money
  5. ruler — for measuring
  6. march — music
  7. degree — from a university
  8. bank — for money
  9. ruler — for measuring
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. jam — to spread on bread
  12. bank — of a river
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. march — the month
  15. degree — temperature
  16. pop — soda
  17. pop — to visit
  18. jam — a tight spot
  19. ruler — a monarch
  20. march — the month
  21. pop — music
  22. wind — moving air
  23. lie — to recline
  24. jam — in traffic

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