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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: object · game · drill · scale · chair · staff · prune · degree

  1. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  4. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  12. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  13. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  14. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  15. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  20. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  21. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  22. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  23. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  24. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — a stick
  2. chair — a leader
  3. chair — to sit on
  4. object — to protest
  5. game — wild animals
  6. degree — temperature
  7. degree — an amount
  8. prune — to trim
  9. prune — to trim
  10. game — a match
  11. object — a thing
  12. drill — army training
  13. scale — size or range
  14. drill — a practice
  15. staff — employees
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. chair — a professorship
  18. degree — from a university
  19. object — an aim
  20. scale — in music
  21. prune — the fruit
  22. drill — the tool
  23. scale — for weighing
  24. staff — employees

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