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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.

Words on the sheet
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: scale · degree · charge · last · prune · hand · bass · press

  1. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  5. Did you ________________ the button?
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  11. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  12. The tickets are free of ________________.
  13. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  16. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  17. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  18. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  19. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. hand — in cards
  3. degree — an amount
  4. scale — for weighing
  5. press — to push
  6. degree — from a university
  7. charge — electricity
  8. last — to go on
  9. prune — to trim
  10. scale — in music
  11. prune — the fruit
  12. charge — a price
  13. press — newspapers
  14. last — final
  15. charge — in control
  16. press — a publisher
  17. prune — to trim
  18. scale — size or range
  19. bass — the instrument
  20. last — finally
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. hand — help
  23. degree — temperature
  24. bass — the fish

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