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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: calf · object · rush · spring · leaves · degree · scale · drill

  1. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  3. That must've been a ________________.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  6. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  7. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  14. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  15. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  16. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  17. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  20. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  21. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  22. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  23. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. drill — the tool
  3. rush — a thrill
  4. degree — temperature
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. rush — to hurry
  7. drill — a practice
  8. spring — the season
  9. drill — army training
  10. degree — an amount
  11. object — to protest
  12. spring — a coil
  13. leaves — to go away
  14. object — an aim
  15. leaves — lets stay
  16. scale — in music
  17. calf — of the leg
  18. spring — of water
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. scale — size or range
  21. leaves — of a tree
  22. scale — for weighing
  23. object — a thing
  24. degree — from a university

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