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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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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: scale · root · degree · kick · hand · kid · rest · saw

  1. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  2. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  6. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  9. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  10. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  15. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  16. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  17. He works in a ________________ mill.
  18. She's very handy with a ________________.
  19. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — size or range
  2. rest — what's left
  3. degree — temperature
  4. hand — help
  5. rest — a break
  6. kick — in football
  7. degree — from a university
  8. kick — with a leg
  9. saw — past of 'see'
  10. scale — in music
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. kid — to tease
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. scale — for weighing
  15. rest — what's left
  16. root — of a word
  17. saw — the tool
  18. saw — the tool
  19. root — the cause
  20. hand — in cards
  21. kick — a thrill
  22. degree — an amount
  23. root — of a plant
  24. kid — child

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