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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.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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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: ground · wake · rule · bass · arm · land · row · degree

  1. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  2. There's no middle ________________.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  5. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  8. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  9. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  10. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  20. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  21. My father caught me by the ________________.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — a law
  2. ground — a position
  3. ground — crushed
  4. arm — a part of something
  5. rule — government
  6. degree — an amount
  7. rule — to rule out
  8. row — to paddle
  9. row — a line
  10. bass — the fish
  11. degree — from a university
  12. bass — low music
  13. land — to come down
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. wake — to stop sleeping
  16. ground — the earth
  17. degree — temperature
  18. land — ground
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. bass — the instrument
  21. arm — part of the body
  22. land — a country
  23. wake — before a funeral
  24. wake — a trail

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