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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.

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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: arm · wake · bore · degree · scale · mine

  1. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  4. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  5. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. My father caught me by the ________________.
  8. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  9. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  10. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  11. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  17. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — before a funeral
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. scale — size or range
  5. scale — for weighing
  6. degree — an amount
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. scale — in music
  9. bore — to tire
  10. arm — a part of something
  11. bore — gave birth
  12. mine — for digging
  13. wake — a trail
  14. degree — from a university
  15. degree — temperature
  16. bore — to drill
  17. wake — to stop sleeping
  18. mine — an explosive

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