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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: rush · content · scale · bowl · stock · mate · degree · plane

  1. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  5. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  6. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  7. Have you found your soul ________________?
  8. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  9. The ________________ took off on time.
  10. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  13. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  14. The ________________ market has crashed.
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. That must've been a ________________.
  20. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  21. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  22. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  23. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  24. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. scale — size or range
  3. content — the amount
  4. scale — in music
  5. mate — a friend
  6. rush — to hurry
  7. mate — a partner
  8. bowl — a dish
  9. plane — an aircraft
  10. plane — in geometry
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. rush — hurry
  13. bowl — to roll
  14. stock — shares
  15. content — happy
  16. bowl — a football final
  17. degree — temperature
  18. degree — an amount
  19. rush — a thrill
  20. mate — to breed
  21. plane — a tool
  22. stock — a soup base
  23. scale — for weighing
  24. stock — goods

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