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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 · straw · mark · degree · spring · stand · court

  1. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. That was a fun ________________.
  3. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. I can't ________________ this cold.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  22. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. game — a match
  3. mark — a trace
  4. court — of law
  5. game — wild animals
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. stand — to bear
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. mark — a grade
  11. spring — of water
  12. stand — for spectators
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. degree — an amount
  15. scale — size or range
  16. court — of a king
  17. degree — from a university
  18. stand — on your feet
  19. spring — the season
  20. spring — a coil
  21. scale — for weighing
  22. scale — in music
  23. court — for sport
  24. mark — to pay attention

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