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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 120 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
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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: fall · degree · capital · scale · row · craft

  1. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  4. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  7. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  8. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  9. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  18. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.

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

Answer key

  1. row — to paddle
  2. degree — from a university
  3. fall — to drop
  4. craft — boats
  5. degree — temperature
  6. scale — for weighing
  7. fall — the season
  8. scale — in music
  9. scale — size or range
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. capital — money
  12. row — a line
  13. degree — an amount
  14. capital — a city
  15. craft — a skill
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. fall — to drop
  18. craft — a handicraft

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