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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: snap · net · scale · ball · lean · season · rest · degree

  1. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  2. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  3. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  4. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  5. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  8. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  9. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. Did you ________________ the meat?
  12. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  13. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  14. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  15. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  18. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  19. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  20. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  23. The King held a masked ________________.
  24. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. ball — a great time
  3. season — in sport
  4. lean — thin
  5. season — of the year
  6. degree — temperature
  7. scale — for weighing
  8. net — after costs
  9. net — in sport
  10. net — for catching
  11. season — to add flavour
  12. rest — what's left
  13. lean — to bend
  14. ball — a round shape
  15. snap — to click
  16. degree — an amount
  17. snap — to snap out of it
  18. scale — in music
  19. rest — a break
  20. scale — size or range
  21. degree — from a university
  22. snap — to speak sharply
  23. ball — a dance
  24. lean — to rest against

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