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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: scale · hand · wake · dip · mark · degree · tear · rule

  1. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  2. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  3. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  6. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  15. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  22. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  23. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  24. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — government
  2. scale — in music
  3. dip — to dunk
  4. degree — temperature
  5. scale — size or range
  6. mark — a grade
  7. degree — from a university
  8. hand — help
  9. wake — to stop sleeping
  10. wake — a trail
  11. hand — in cards
  12. mark — a trace
  13. degree — an amount
  14. rule — to rule out
  15. dip — a sauce
  16. tear — to rip
  17. rule — a law
  18. tear — from crying
  19. tear — from crying
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. dip — to sink
  22. wake — before a funeral
  23. mark — to pay attention
  24. scale — for weighing

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