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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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468
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: bark · march · degree · current · pitch · scale · ball · fan

  1. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  2. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  3. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  8. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  9. The King held a masked ________________.
  10. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  11. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  16. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  17. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  18. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  19. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  20. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  21. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. The players ran onto the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — size or range
  2. current — of water
  3. current — happening now
  4. degree — temperature
  5. march — the month
  6. bark — to shout
  7. scale — for weighing
  8. ball — a round shape
  9. ball — a dance
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. pitch — a sales talk
  12. march — the month
  13. degree — from a university
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. fan — to cool the air
  17. pitch — completely
  18. ball — a great time
  19. scale — in music
  20. bark — of a tree
  21. current — electric
  22. march — music
  23. degree — an amount
  24. pitch — a sports field

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