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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: race · dip · scale · staff · date · degree · cabinet · trunk

  1. What do you think of the new ________________?
  2. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  3. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  4. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  5. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  6. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  11. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  12. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  13. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  14. Have you settled on a ________________?
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  17. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  20. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  23. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  24. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. staff — a stick
  4. staff — employees
  5. scale — in music
  6. cabinet — a cupboard
  7. race — the arms race
  8. date — the fruit
  9. race — humankind
  10. dip — to sink
  11. trunk — of an elephant
  12. staff — employees
  13. scale — for weighing
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. degree — an amount
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. dip — to dunk
  18. degree — temperature
  19. trunk — of a car
  20. race — a contest
  21. degree — from a university
  22. dip — a sauce
  23. scale — size or range
  24. trunk — of a tree

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