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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: drill · chest · degree · mug · scale · spring · saw · wave

  1. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  4. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  8. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  9. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  10. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  11. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  12. He works in a ________________ mill.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. Where did you ________________ them?
  15. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  16. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  17. She's very handy with a ________________.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  20. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. chest — of your body
  3. wave — a sudden rise
  4. mug — a cup
  5. degree — temperature
  6. degree — an amount
  7. scale — in music
  8. drill — army training
  9. saw — past of 'see'
  10. wave — of the sea
  11. drill — the tool
  12. saw — the tool
  13. spring — of water
  14. mug — to rob
  15. mug — a face
  16. scale — size or range
  17. saw — the tool
  18. spring — a coil
  19. scale — for weighing
  20. drill — a practice
  21. chest — of your body
  22. degree — from a university
  23. chest — a box
  24. wave — with your hand

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