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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: toast · present · scale · degree · stock · cell

  1. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  7. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  8. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. The ________________ market has crashed.
  11. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  12. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  15. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  16. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  17. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. scale — for weighing
  3. cell — in biology
  4. present — there
  5. degree — from a university
  6. stock — a soup base
  7. toast — a drink to someone
  8. present — a gift
  9. degree — an amount
  10. stock — shares
  11. scale — size or range
  12. toast — the most admired
  13. cell — a phone
  14. stock — goods
  15. scale — in music
  16. toast — bread
  17. present — the time now
  18. cell — in a prison

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