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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: degree · scale · cabinet · nail · snap · prune · ground · field

  1. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  3. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  4. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  8. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  9. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  10. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  11. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  12. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  13. There's no middle ________________.
  14. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. The ________________ went through the wall.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. What do you think of the new ________________?
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  21. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. snap — to speak sharply
  3. prune — to trim
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. degree — an amount
  6. degree — temperature
  7. scale — in music
  8. snap — to click
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. cabinet — a cupboard
  11. scale — size or range
  12. snap — to snap out of it
  13. ground — a position
  14. scale — for weighing
  15. ground — crushed
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. field — a subject
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. ground — the earth
  20. prune — the fruit
  21. nail — on a finger
  22. field — for sport
  23. field — farmland
  24. prune — to trim

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