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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: shower · calf · capital · degree · rest · ruler · deal · cold

  1. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  3. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  8. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  9. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  10. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  11. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. ruler — for measuring
  3. ruler — a monarch
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. rest — what's left
  6. capital — money
  7. ruler — for measuring
  8. deal — a big deal
  9. deal — to handle
  10. rest — a break
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. cold — an illness
  13. rest — what's left
  14. degree — temperature
  15. degree — an amount
  16. deal — an agreement
  17. shower — to wash
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. cold — not warm
  20. degree — from a university
  21. capital — a city
  22. calf — of the leg
  23. shower — rain
  24. calf — a young animal

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