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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: key · degree · wave · scale · rash · row · band · kid

  1. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. This piece is in a major ________________.
  3. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  4. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  5. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  6. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  7. Don't do anything ________________.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  16. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  19. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  20. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  21. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  22. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  24. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. key — in music
  3. row — to paddle
  4. scale — in music
  5. wave — of the sea
  6. rash — on the skin
  7. rash — hasty
  8. degree — from a university
  9. rash — a series
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. degree — an amount
  12. band — a music group
  13. kid — child
  14. degree — temperature
  15. key — the most important part
  16. band — a rubber band
  17. band — a ring
  18. scale — for weighing
  19. wave — with your hand
  20. key — for a lock
  21. wave — a sudden rise
  22. scale — size or range
  23. kid — to tease
  24. row — a line

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