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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 · degree · roll · pass · toast · spell · scale · cold

  1. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  4. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  5. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  9. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  10. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  11. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  12. David sat on the ________________.
  13. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  14. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  17. We're on a ________________ here.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  24. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — size or range
  2. degree — temperature
  3. toast — a drink to someone
  4. scale — for weighing
  5. toast — bread
  6. spell — letters
  7. cold — not warm
  8. pass — to succeed
  9. swing — in golf
  10. scale — in music
  11. pass — a permit
  12. swing — to play on
  13. pass — to spend time
  14. swing — music
  15. spell — a short time
  16. roll — a list
  17. roll — on a roll
  18. cold — an illness
  19. degree — an amount
  20. degree — from a university
  21. toast — the most admired
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. roll — a cake
  24. spell — magic

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