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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: saw · mine · stock · degree · bound · drill · scale · race

  1. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  2. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  5. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. The ________________ market has crashed.
  8. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  9. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  10. He works in a ________________ mill.
  11. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  14. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  15. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. That was ________________ to happen.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  22. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  23. She's very handy with a ________________.
  24. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — in music
  2. race — the arms race
  3. degree — from a university
  4. drill — army training
  5. stock — a soup base
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. stock — shares
  8. bound — obliged
  9. drill — the tool
  10. saw — the tool
  11. drill — a practice
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. scale — size or range
  14. bound — tied together
  15. race — humankind
  16. degree — temperature
  17. race — a contest
  18. bound — certain
  19. degree — an amount
  20. mine — for digging
  21. saw — past of 'see'
  22. stock — goods
  23. saw — the tool
  24. scale — for weighing

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