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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: scale · row · tear · cabinet · degree · pitcher · mark · march

  1. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  4. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  5. What do you think of the new ________________?
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. He is an ace ________________.
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  19. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — a trace
  2. degree — temperature
  3. scale — for weighing
  4. scale — in music
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. march — the month
  7. pitcher — in baseball
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. tear — from crying
  10. mark — to pay attention
  11. degree — from a university
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. tear — to rip
  15. cabinet — a cupboard
  16. tear — from crying
  17. mark — a grade
  18. row — a line
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. march — music
  21. row — to paddle
  22. degree — an amount
  23. scale — size or range
  24. march — the month

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