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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: squash · tube · degree · lean · club · vault · arm · scale

  1. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. I'll be taking the ________________.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  5. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. My father caught me by the ________________.
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  10. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  11. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  14. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  15. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  16. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  17. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  18. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  19. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  20. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  21. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  22. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  23. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  24. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. tube — the underground
  3. degree — temperature
  4. squash — the vegetable
  5. lean — to bend
  6. degree — from a university
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. squash — the sport
  9. scale — size or range
  10. arm — a part of something
  11. club — for golf
  12. squash — to crush
  13. tube — a container
  14. lean — to rest against
  15. club — for dancing
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. scale — for weighing
  18. scale — in music
  19. vault — an arched ceiling
  20. lean — thin
  21. vault — in gymnastics
  22. vault — a safe
  23. club — a group
  24. tube — in a tire

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