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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: band · calf · wound · mark · pop · scale · degree · court

  1. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  4. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  5. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  12. We're almost out of ________________.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  15. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  16. You don't need to ________________ round.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  19. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  20. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. wound — an injury
  3. scale — size or range
  4. scale — in music
  5. mark — a grade
  6. court — of a king
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. court — of law
  9. court — for sport
  10. band — a music group
  11. mark — a trace
  12. pop — soda
  13. degree — temperature
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. pop — music
  16. pop — to visit
  17. wound — an injury
  18. calf — of the leg
  19. mark — to pay attention
  20. scale — for weighing
  21. degree — an amount
  22. degree — from a university
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. band — a rubber band

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