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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.

Make a worksheet

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 · march · last · bank · spell · bay · content · degree

  1. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  18. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  19. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  20. How do you ________________ your surname?
  21. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  22. My mare is ________________ in color.
  23. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. bay — a part of the sea
  3. last — final
  4. bay — to keep at bay
  5. content — happy
  6. last — to go on
  7. march — the month
  8. degree — from a university
  9. march — the month
  10. spell — magic
  11. degree — an amount
  12. bank — for money
  13. march — music
  14. scale — in music
  15. last — finally
  16. content — the amount
  17. scale — size or range
  18. scale — for weighing
  19. spell — a short time
  20. spell — letters
  21. bank — for money
  22. bay — a horse colour
  23. bank — of a river
  24. content — videos and posts

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