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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: squash · degree · racket · stick · scale · fork · rest · straw

  1. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  6. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  7. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  8. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  14. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  15. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  18. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  19. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  20. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  21. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  22. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  23. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  24. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. scale — size or range
  3. degree — temperature
  4. degree — from a university
  5. racket — a loud noise
  6. stick — to attach or keep to
  7. fork — a garden tool
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. squash — the sport
  11. rest — what's left
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. fork — in a road
  14. fork — to eat with
  15. scale — in music
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. squash — to crush
  19. rest — a break
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. scale — for weighing
  22. squash — the vegetable
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. rest — what's left

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