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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: stock · mark · degree · saw · scale · date · march · game

  1. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  8. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  9. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  10. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. The ________________ market has crashed.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  21. Have you settled on a ________________?
  22. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  23. She's very handy with a ________________.
  24. He works in a ________________ mill.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — past of 'see'
  2. march — music
  3. scale — in music
  4. march — the month
  5. mark — a grade
  6. game — a match
  7. date — the fruit
  8. stock — a soup base
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. scale — for weighing
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. stock — shares
  13. degree — from a university
  14. march — the month
  15. scale — size or range
  16. degree — an amount
  17. mark — to pay attention
  18. degree — temperature
  19. game — wild animals
  20. stock — goods
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. mark — a trace
  23. saw — the tool
  24. saw — the tool

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