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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: track · degree · craft · ruler · cold · tear · content · fall

  1. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  7. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  15. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  20. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  21. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  22. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ruler — for measuring
  2. degree — from a university
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. fall — to drop
  5. tear — to rip
  6. fall — the season
  7. ruler — for measuring
  8. degree — an amount
  9. content — happy
  10. track — a song
  11. tear — from crying
  12. craft — boats
  13. cold — an illness
  14. track — a path
  15. craft — a handicraft
  16. degree — temperature
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. content — the amount
  19. ruler — a monarch
  20. fall — to drop
  21. craft — a skill
  22. track — to keep track
  23. tear — from crying
  24. cold — not warm

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