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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: scale · tube · bat · degree · foot · craft · snap · arm

  1. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  2. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  3. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  4. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  7. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  8. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  9. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  10. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  11. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  15. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  16. I'll be taking the ________________.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. My father caught me by the ________________.
  22. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — boats
  2. foot — the bottom
  3. tube — in a tire
  4. arm — a part of something
  5. degree — from a university
  6. scale — for weighing
  7. foot — a measure
  8. craft — a handicraft
  9. craft — a skill
  10. foot — part of the body
  11. tube — a container
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. snap — to snap out of it
  15. scale — in music
  16. tube — the underground
  17. degree — an amount
  18. bat — the animal
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. arm — part of the body
  22. scale — size or range
  23. degree — temperature
  24. snap — to click

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