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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 · content · shower · charge · degree · pitch · press · lash

  1. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. The tickets are free of ________________.
  5. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  6. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  12. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  13. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  14. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  15. Did you ________________ the button?
  16. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  17. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  20. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  21. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  22. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. lash — an eyelash
  2. degree — from a university
  3. shower — rain
  4. charge — a price
  5. pitch — a sports field
  6. press — a publisher
  7. degree — temperature
  8. shower — to wash
  9. content — the amount
  10. content — happy
  11. lash — a whip stroke
  12. scale — in music
  13. pitch — completely
  14. lash — to lash out
  15. press — to push
  16. charge — electricity
  17. charge — in control
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. scale — for weighing
  20. pitch — a sales talk
  21. press — newspapers
  22. scale — size or range
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. degree — an amount

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