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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: date · last · hand · scale · mouse · mark · degree · spring

  1. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. Have you settled on a ________________?
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  8. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  11. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  19. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  20. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  21. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  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. last — finally
  2. spring — of water
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. spring — a coil
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. last — final
  7. scale — size or range
  8. mark — to pay attention
  9. hand — help
  10. scale — in music
  11. mouse — the animal
  12. last — to go on
  13. mouse — the animal
  14. hand — in cards
  15. scale — for weighing
  16. spring — the season
  17. degree — from a university
  18. mark — a grade
  19. mouse — for a computer
  20. date — the fruit
  21. mark — a trace
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. degree — temperature
  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