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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: coach · spring · drill · degree · sharp · fall · safe · scale

  1. It's one o'clock ________________.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  5. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  6. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  9. Have you met the new head ________________?
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  12. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  13. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  14. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  19. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  20. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  21. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  22. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  23. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  24. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — exactly
  2. degree — an amount
  3. degree — temperature
  4. sharp — clever
  5. fall — to drop
  6. fall — the season
  7. spring — a coil
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. degree — from a university
  11. safe — a strongbox
  12. drill — army training
  13. safe — out of danger
  14. scale — for weighing
  15. spring — the season
  16. drill — a practice
  17. spring — of water
  18. safe — out of danger
  19. coach — pulled by horses
  20. scale — in music
  21. sharp — with an edge
  22. fall — to drop
  23. scale — size or range
  24. drill — the tool

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