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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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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: rock · shower · bark · degree · wound · ruler · band · row

  1. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  2. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  20. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  21. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. rock — a stone
  2. ruler — a monarch
  3. shower — rain
  4. wound — an injury
  5. row — to paddle
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. band — a music group
  10. wound — an injury
  11. shower — to wash
  12. band — a ring
  13. row — a line
  14. bark — to shout
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. ruler — for measuring
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. degree — from a university
  19. rock — to move gently
  20. ruler — for measuring
  21. bark — of a tree
  22. degree — temperature
  23. rock — music
  24. degree — an amount

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