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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: bore · degree · bay · rest · fall · scale · chest · mine

  1. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  2. My mare is ________________ in color.
  3. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  4. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  5. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  6. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  7. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  14. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  15. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  24. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?

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

Answer key

  1. scale — for weighing
  2. bay — a horse colour
  3. rest — what's left
  4. fall — to drop
  5. bay — a part of the sea
  6. fall — to drop
  7. rest — a break
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. bore — to drill
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. mine — for digging
  12. chest — a box
  13. scale — size or range
  14. rest — what's left
  15. bore — gave birth
  16. chest — of your body
  17. chest — of your body
  18. degree — from a university
  19. scale — in music
  20. degree — temperature
  21. fall — the season
  22. degree — an amount
  23. bay — to keep at bay
  24. bore — to tire

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