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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: degree · ruler · drill · cold · object · pitch · date · tear

  1. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  4. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  11. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  12. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  16. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  17. Have you settled on a ________________?
  18. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  23. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  24. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.

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

Answer key

  1. ruler — a monarch
  2. tear — from crying
  3. pitch — a sports field
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. degree — temperature
  7. object — a thing
  8. degree — from a university
  9. cold — an illness
  10. drill — the tool
  11. drill — army training
  12. drill — a practice
  13. cold — not warm
  14. tear — from crying
  15. ruler — for measuring
  16. ruler — for measuring
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. pitch — a sales talk
  19. tear — to rip
  20. object — to protest
  21. degree — an amount
  22. pitch — completely
  23. object — an aim
  24. date — the fruit

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