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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: row · ruler · mouse · rock · deal · wound · degree · file

  1. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  3. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  8. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  9. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  10. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  11. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  16. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  21. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  24. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. wound — past of 'wind'
  3. ruler — a monarch
  4. file — a line of people
  5. mouse — for a computer
  6. file — a tool
  7. deal — a big deal
  8. mouse — the animal
  9. deal — an agreement
  10. rock — a stone
  11. rock — to move gently
  12. degree — temperature
  13. wound — an injury
  14. degree — from a university
  15. deal — to handle
  16. rock — music
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. row — a line
  19. row — to paddle
  20. ruler — for measuring
  21. mouse — the animal
  22. file — a document
  23. wound — an injury
  24. ruler — for measuring

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