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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: scale · game · tube · shower · plane · craft · stock · degree

  1. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  2. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  3. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  4. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  5. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  6. The ________________ market has crashed.
  7. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  8. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. The ________________ took off on time.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  21. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  22. I'll be taking the ________________.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — a container
  2. craft — a skill
  3. scale — in music
  4. scale — size or range
  5. plane — in geometry
  6. stock — shares
  7. tube — in a tire
  8. craft — boats
  9. game — wild animals
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. craft — a handicraft
  12. degree — an amount
  13. plane — a tool
  14. shower — to wash
  15. stock — goods
  16. degree — from a university
  17. shower — rain
  18. plane — an aircraft
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. stock — a soup base
  21. scale — for weighing
  22. tube — the underground
  23. degree — temperature
  24. game — a match

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