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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: deal · ruler · craft · degree · hand · scale · present · bat

  1. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  10. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  11. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  15. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  16. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  17. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  18. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  19. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  20. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  21. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  22. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — boats
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. degree — an amount
  4. hand — help
  5. deal — a big deal
  6. bat — the animal
  7. ruler — for measuring
  8. degree — temperature
  9. deal — an agreement
  10. present — a gift
  11. deal — to handle
  12. hand — in cards
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. craft — a skill
  15. ruler — a monarch
  16. scale — in music
  17. scale — size or range
  18. craft — a handicraft
  19. present — there
  20. ruler — for measuring
  21. present — the time now
  22. scale — for weighing
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. degree — from a university

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