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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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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: wind · scale · stand · leaves · fork · chest · degree · bore

  1. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  5. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  6. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  9. I can't ________________ this cold.
  10. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  13. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  14. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  15. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  16. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  17. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  23. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — gave birth
  2. wind — moving air
  3. degree — from a university
  4. fork — to eat with
  5. fork — in a road
  6. stand — for spectators
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. bore — to drill
  9. stand — to bear
  10. leaves — lets stay
  11. degree — temperature
  12. scale — for weighing
  13. bore — to tire
  14. stand — on your feet
  15. chest — of your body
  16. scale — in music
  17. leaves — of a tree
  18. degree — an amount
  19. leaves — to go away
  20. chest — of your body
  21. wind — moving air
  22. scale — size or range
  23. fork — a garden tool
  24. chest — a box

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