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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: land · ball · ruler · club · rash · degree · prune · chest

  1. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  5. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  6. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  7. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  8. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  9. Don't do anything ________________.
  10. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  11. The King held a masked ________________.
  12. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. club — a group
  2. degree — temperature
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. club — for golf
  5. ruler — for measuring
  6. ball — a great time
  7. ruler — for measuring
  8. ball — a round shape
  9. rash — hasty
  10. ruler — a monarch
  11. ball — a dance
  12. prune — to trim
  13. chest — of your body
  14. prune — to trim
  15. land — to come down
  16. rash — on the skin
  17. degree — an amount
  18. club — for dancing
  19. chest — a box
  20. rash — a series
  21. land — ground
  22. chest — of your body
  23. degree — from a university
  24. land — a country

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