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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: hand · perch · mate · rest · ruler · degree · scale · pitch

  1. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  3. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  4. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  5. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  6. Have you found your soul ________________?
  7. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  8. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  9. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  10. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  11. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  12. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  15. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  16. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  19. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  20. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  21. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. rest — what's left
  3. pitch — a sports field
  4. mate — a friend
  5. rest — a break
  6. mate — a partner
  7. scale — for weighing
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. mate — to breed
  10. scale — in music
  11. pitch — completely
  12. perch — the fish
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. ruler — a monarch
  16. scale — size or range
  17. hand — in cards
  18. ruler — for measuring
  19. pitch — a sales talk
  20. rest — what's left
  21. ruler — for measuring
  22. degree — temperature
  23. degree — from a university
  24. hand — help

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