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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: scale · tear · saw · pit · degree · march · rash · hide

  1. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  4. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  5. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  6. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  7. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  10. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. She's very handy with a ________________.
  16. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  17. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  18. He works in a ________________ mill.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  22. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. march — music
  3. hide — animal skin
  4. pit — in a race
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. scale — for weighing
  8. tear — from crying
  9. pit — a fruit stone
  10. pit — a hole
  11. degree — from a university
  12. scale — size or range
  13. march — the month
  14. degree — temperature
  15. saw — the tool
  16. scale — in music
  17. rash — a series
  18. saw — the tool
  19. march — the month
  20. tear — to rip
  21. saw — past of 'see'
  22. rash — on the skin
  23. tear — from crying
  24. degree — an amount

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