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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 120 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: deal · nail · degree · squash · scale · tube · rash · shower

  1. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  2. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. I'll be taking the ________________.
  9. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  12. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  13. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  16. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  17. The ________________ went through the wall.
  18. Don't do anything ________________.
  19. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  20. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  21. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  24. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — in a tire
  2. deal — to handle
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. squash — to crush
  5. degree — an amount
  6. scale — size or range
  7. degree — from a university
  8. tube — the underground
  9. nail — on a finger
  10. shower — to wash
  11. tube — a container
  12. rash — on the skin
  13. rash — a series
  14. shower — rain
  15. scale — for weighing
  16. squash — the sport
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. rash — hasty
  19. squash — the vegetable
  20. scale — in music
  21. deal — an agreement
  22. degree — temperature
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. deal — a big deal

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