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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 120 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 · bore · scale · band · foot · perch · fall · game

  1. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  5. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  6. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  7. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  11. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  12. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  19. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  22. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  23. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  24. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. degree — from a university
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. foot — the bottom
  6. fall — to drop
  7. scale — for weighing
  8. game — a match
  9. degree — an amount
  10. fall — the season
  11. bore — to drill
  12. scale — in music
  13. game — wild animals
  14. foot — part of the body
  15. band — a music group
  16. scale — size or range
  17. degree — temperature
  18. perch — the fish
  19. bore — to tire
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. foot — a measure
  22. bore — gave birth
  23. fall — to drop
  24. band — a ring

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