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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: pop · squash · wind · scale · fork · spring · degree · stick

  1. We're almost out of ________________.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  4. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  5. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  10. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  11. You don't need to ________________ round.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  14. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  20. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  21. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  22. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  23. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — soda
  2. degree — from a university
  3. pop — music
  4. squash — the vegetable
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. degree — temperature
  7. wind — moving air
  8. degree — an amount
  9. scale — in music
  10. scale — for weighing
  11. pop — to visit
  12. spring — the season
  13. squash — to crush
  14. fork — a garden tool
  15. wind — moving air
  16. fork — to eat with
  17. spring — a coil
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. fork — in a road
  20. stick — a piece of wood
  21. stick — to attach or keep to
  22. scale — size or range
  23. squash — the sport
  24. spring — of water

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