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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: current · mouse · degree · hand · scale · cell · row · coach

  1. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  6. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  7. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  10. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. Have you met the new head ________________?
  18. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. scale — in music
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. hand — in cards
  5. current — happening now
  6. current — of water
  7. scale — size or range
  8. cell — a phone
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. mouse — the animal
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. scale — for weighing
  13. cell — in biology
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. coach — pulled by horses
  16. degree — from a university
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. mouse — for a computer
  19. degree — an amount
  20. current — electric
  21. row — a line
  22. hand — help
  23. mouse — the animal
  24. row — to paddle

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