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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: kid · club · degree · scale · ground · rule

  1. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  2. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  5. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  6. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  12. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  15. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. There's no middle ________________.
  18. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — in music
  2. club — a group
  3. kid — child
  4. club — for dancing
  5. scale — size or range
  6. rule — to rule out
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. degree — temperature
  9. ground — the earth
  10. kid — to tease
  11. ground — crushed
  12. scale — for weighing
  13. degree — from a university
  14. rule — government
  15. rule — a law
  16. degree — an amount
  17. ground — a position
  18. club — for golf

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