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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.

Words on the sheet
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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 · bass · degree · saw · court · mine · season · wind

  1. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. She's very handy with a ________________.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  9. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  10. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. He works in a ________________ mill.
  15. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  22. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. bass — the instrument
  3. court — for sport
  4. saw — the tool
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. court — of a king
  7. court — of law
  8. saw — past of 'see'
  9. scale — in music
  10. season — of the year
  11. degree — from a university
  12. mine — for digging
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. saw — the tool
  15. bass — the fish
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. scale — size or range
  18. wind — moving air
  19. bass — low music
  20. degree — temperature
  21. season — in sport
  22. scale — for weighing
  23. wind — moving air
  24. degree — an amount

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