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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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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: rush · degree · race · pitcher · craft · spring · mine · ruler

  1. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  5. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  6. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  7. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  8. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  13. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  14. That must've been a ________________.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. He is an ace ________________.
  19. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  22. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. You shouldn't ________________ things.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. degree — temperature
  3. spring — a coil
  4. craft — a skill
  5. craft — a handicraft
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. craft — boats
  8. ruler — a monarch
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. degree — an amount
  11. spring — the season
  12. rush — hurry
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. rush — a thrill
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. race — humankind
  17. race — a contest
  18. pitcher — in baseball
  19. race — the arms race
  20. degree — from a university
  21. ruler — for measuring
  22. ruler — for measuring
  23. mine — for digging
  24. rush — to hurry

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