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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: chair · deal · pound · scale · degree · coach

  1. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  2. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. Have you met the new head ________________?
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  10. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  11. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  12. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  13. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  14. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  15. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  16. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  17. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  18. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — an agreement
  2. coach — pulled by horses
  3. degree — from a university
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. degree — temperature
  8. degree — an amount
  9. pound — a weight
  10. deal — to handle
  11. pound — for dogs
  12. scale — size or range
  13. scale — for weighing
  14. pound — to hit hard
  15. scale — in music
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. deal — a big deal
  18. chair — a leader

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