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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: club · chip · plane · date · degree · shower · scale · pop

  1. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  2. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  5. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  6. The ________________ took off on time.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  9. You don't need to ________________ round.
  10. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  11. Have you settled on a ________________?
  12. We're almost out of ________________.
  13. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  14. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  19. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  20. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  21. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — to eat
  2. club — for dancing
  3. shower — rain
  4. scale — in music
  5. club — for golf
  6. plane — an aircraft
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. scale — for weighing
  9. pop — to visit
  10. chip — for betting
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. pop — soda
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. club — a group
  15. shower — to wash
  16. pop — music
  17. degree — from a university
  18. plane — a tool
  19. chip — in a computer
  20. plane — in geometry
  21. date — the fruit
  22. degree — an amount
  23. scale — size or range
  24. degree — temperature

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