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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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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: field · tear · degree · ruler · rock · snap · saw · march

  1. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  3. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  11. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  12. She's very handy with a ________________.
  13. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  14. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  22. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  23. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  24. He works in a ________________ mill.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. tear — to rip
  3. snap — to speak sharply
  4. tear — from crying
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. field — a subject
  7. march — the month
  8. degree — an amount
  9. tear — from crying
  10. ruler — for measuring
  11. rock — to move gently
  12. saw — the tool
  13. rock — a stone
  14. rock — music
  15. field — for sport
  16. march — the month
  17. field — farmland
  18. degree — temperature
  19. saw — past of 'see'
  20. march — music
  21. ruler — a monarch
  22. snap — to click
  23. ruler — for measuring
  24. saw — the tool

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