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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: degree · swing · stand · rest · straw · scale · saw · prune

  1. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  2. She's very handy with a ________________.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  9. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  10. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. I can't ________________ this cold.
  13. He works in a ________________ mill.
  14. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  15. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  18. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  21. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  22. David sat on the ________________.
  23. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  24. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — a break
  2. saw — the tool
  3. degree — temperature
  4. scale — size or range
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. degree — from a university
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. prune — to trim
  9. stand — on your feet
  10. prune — to trim
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. stand — to bear
  13. saw — the tool
  14. scale — in music
  15. swing — music
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. stand — for spectators
  18. saw — past of 'see'
  19. degree — an amount
  20. scale — for weighing
  21. rest — what's left
  22. swing — to play on
  23. swing — in golf
  24. rest — what's left

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