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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: rest · scale · jam · bore · pitcher · degree · ball · squash

  1. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  2. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  3. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  6. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  7. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  8. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  9. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  12. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  13. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  17. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  18. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  19. The King held a masked ________________.
  20. He is an ace ________________.
  21. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  22. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  23. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  24. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. squash — the sport
  3. jam — to spread on bread
  4. degree — from a university
  5. bore — to tire
  6. scale — in music
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. bore — gave birth
  9. bore — to drill
  10. degree — temperature
  11. squash — the vegetable
  12. rest — a break
  13. scale — size or range
  14. degree — an amount
  15. squash — to crush
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. jam — a tight spot
  18. rest — what's left
  19. ball — a dance
  20. pitcher — in baseball
  21. ball — a great time
  22. scale — for weighing
  23. ball — a round shape
  24. jam — in traffic

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