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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: pit · field · saw · scale · degree · fork · chair · content

  1. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  3. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  4. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  5. She's very handy with a ________________.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  13. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  14. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  15. He works in a ________________ mill.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  18. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  19. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  20. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  24. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. saw — past of 'see'
  3. pit — a hole
  4. scale — size or range
  5. saw — the tool
  6. degree — temperature
  7. scale — for weighing
  8. degree — an amount
  9. scale — in music
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. content — the amount
  12. chair — to sit on
  13. fork — a garden tool
  14. fork — in a road
  15. saw — the tool
  16. field — farmland
  17. content — happy
  18. chair — a leader
  19. pit — a fruit stone
  20. chair — a professorship
  21. field — for sport
  22. field — a subject
  23. fork — to eat with
  24. pit — in a race

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