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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: capital · swing · ground · scale · branch · degree · pitcher · bat

  1. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  7. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  8. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  9. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  12. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. David sat on the ________________.
  17. He is an ace ________________.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. There's no middle ________________.
  21. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  24. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — size or range
  2. capital — a city
  3. scale — for weighing
  4. degree — temperature
  5. degree — an amount
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. branch — of a tree
  9. ground — the earth
  10. capital — money
  11. swing — in golf
  12. swing — music
  13. bat — the animal
  14. scale — in music
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. swing — to play on
  17. pitcher — in baseball
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. ground — a position
  21. ground — crushed
  22. degree — from a university
  23. branch — a division
  24. branch — of a bank

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