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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: stick · degree · court · mate · scale · bay · spell · row

  1. How do you ________________ your surname?
  2. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  6. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  7. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  8. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  9. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. My mare is ________________ in color.
  15. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  16. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  19. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  20. Have you found your soul ________________?
  21. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  24. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. row — a line
  3. mate — to breed
  4. court — of a king
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. spell — a short time
  7. row — to paddle
  8. scale — for weighing
  9. mate — a friend
  10. degree — temperature
  11. scale — size or range
  12. degree — an amount
  13. court — of law
  14. bay — a horse colour
  15. bay — to keep at bay
  16. bay — a part of the sea
  17. court — for sport
  18. spell — magic
  19. stick — to attach or keep to
  20. mate — a partner
  21. stick — a piece of wood
  22. degree — from a university
  23. row — a quarrel
  24. scale — in music

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