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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: bark · ruler · sharp · content · degree · stand · mine · march

  1. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  10. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  15. I can't ________________ this cold.
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  19. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  22. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. It's one o'clock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. sharp — with an edge
  3. march — the month
  4. march — music
  5. mine — for digging
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. march — the month
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. sharp — clever
  10. ruler — for measuring
  11. content — the amount
  12. ruler — a monarch
  13. degree — from a university
  14. ruler — for measuring
  15. stand — to bear
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. content — happy
  18. bark — of a tree
  19. stand — for spectators
  20. degree — an amount
  21. stand — on your feet
  22. bark — to shout
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. sharp — exactly

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