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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: swing · spring · field · scale · plane · race · degree · dip

  1. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  2. The ________________ took off on time.
  3. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  15. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  16. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. David sat on the ________________.
  23. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — size or range
  2. plane — an aircraft
  3. scale — for weighing
  4. race — a contest
  5. spring — a coil
  6. dip — a sauce
  7. degree — an amount
  8. dip — to dunk
  9. race — the arms race
  10. degree — temperature
  11. race — humankind
  12. dip — to sink
  13. degree — from a university
  14. swing — in golf
  15. swing — music
  16. plane — in geometry
  17. field — for sport
  18. scale — in music
  19. spring — the season
  20. field — farmland
  21. spring — of water
  22. swing — to play on
  23. plane — a tool
  24. field — a subject

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