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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: ruler · wind · fan · branch · scale · degree · bowl · chip

  1. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  3. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  4. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  5. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  6. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  7. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  8. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  11. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  12. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  16. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  17. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  18. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  23. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  24. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. bowl — a dish
  3. bowl — a football final
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. ruler — a monarch
  6. chip — in a computer
  7. chip — for betting
  8. scale — for weighing
  9. wind — moving air
  10. fan — to cool the air
  11. ruler — for measuring
  12. branch — of a bank
  13. wind — moving air
  14. degree — temperature
  15. branch — a division
  16. scale — size or range
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. bowl — to roll
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. chip — to eat
  21. degree — from a university
  22. branch — of a tree
  23. ruler — for measuring
  24. scale — in music

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