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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: stand · court · march · row · shower · scale · pitcher · degree

  1. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  4. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  12. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  21. The ball is in your ________________.
  22. He is an ace ________________.
  23. I can't ________________ this cold.
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. stand — for spectators
  5. shower — rain
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. march — music
  8. march — the month
  9. scale — size or range
  10. march — the month
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. scale — in music
  13. degree — temperature
  14. row — to paddle
  15. stand — on your feet
  16. court — of law
  17. degree — from a university
  18. degree — an amount
  19. row — a line
  20. scale — for weighing
  21. court — for sport
  22. pitcher — in baseball
  23. stand — to bear
  24. court — of a king

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