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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: spell · kid · degree · kick · mouse · deal · scale · spring

  1. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  5. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  9. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  10. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  11. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  12. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  13. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  18. How do you ________________ your surname?
  19. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  20. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. mouse — for a computer
  3. spring — of water
  4. scale — for weighing
  5. kick — in football
  6. spring — a coil
  7. degree — temperature
  8. deal — a big deal
  9. mouse — the animal
  10. spell — a short time
  11. scale — size or range
  12. kick — a thrill
  13. scale — in music
  14. spring — the season
  15. spell — magic
  16. kid — to tease
  17. kick — with a leg
  18. spell — letters
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. deal — to handle
  21. kid — child
  22. degree — an amount
  23. deal — an agreement
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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