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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: scale · cabinet · march · nail · fall · tube · drill · degree

  1. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  4. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  5. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  8. What do you think of the new ________________?
  9. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  14. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  15. I'll be taking the ________________.
  16. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  19. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  20. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  21. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  22. The ________________ went through the wall.
  23. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — the season
  2. degree — an amount
  3. tube — a container
  4. nail — on a finger
  5. drill — the tool
  6. march — music
  7. scale — for weighing
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. tube — in a tire
  10. degree — from a university
  11. cabinet — a cupboard
  12. march — the month
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. fall — to drop
  15. tube — the underground
  16. scale — size or range
  17. march — the month
  18. drill — army training
  19. drill — a practice
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. scale — in music
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. fall — to drop
  24. degree — temperature

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