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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: bay · scale · toast · degree · perch · wind · land · cue

  1. When are we going to ________________?
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  4. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  5. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  6. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  11. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  12. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  15. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  16. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  17. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. My mare is ________________ in color.
  24. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. wind — moving air
  3. bay — a part of the sea
  4. toast — the most admired
  5. cue — a signal
  6. cue — a hint
  7. wind — moving air
  8. bay — to keep at bay
  9. degree — temperature
  10. toast — a drink to someone
  11. scale — in music
  12. scale — size or range
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. cue — for pool
  15. toast — bread
  16. perch — the fish
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. degree — from a university
  19. land — ground
  20. scale — for weighing
  21. land — a country
  22. degree — an amount
  23. bay — a horse colour
  24. perch — for a bird

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