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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 116 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: bear · ruler · mate · bat · craft · wind · cold · degree

  1. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  10. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  11. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  12. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  23. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  24. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. mate — a partner
  3. bear — the animal
  4. degree — an amount
  5. bat — the animal
  6. wind — moving air
  7. cold — an illness
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. bear — to put up with
  10. mate — to breed
  11. ruler — a monarch
  12. craft — boats
  13. degree — temperature
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. ruler — for measuring
  16. cold — not warm
  17. bear — the animal
  18. degree — from a university
  19. wind — moving air
  20. mate — a friend
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. ruler — for measuring
  23. craft — a handicraft
  24. craft — a skill

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