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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 116 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: wave · pit · mine · swing · root · scale · degree · fall

  1. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  2. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  3. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  4. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  5. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  6. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  7. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  10. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  11. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  17. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  18. David sat on the ________________.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  21. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — a sudden rise
  2. pit — a fruit stone
  3. root — the cause
  4. scale — in music
  5. scale — for weighing
  6. wave — of the sea
  7. fall — to drop
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. wave — with your hand
  10. swing — in golf
  11. root — of a word
  12. fall — to drop
  13. swing — music
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. degree — temperature
  16. root — of a plant
  17. pit — in a race
  18. swing — to play on
  19. degree — an amount
  20. fall — the season
  21. pit — a hole
  22. degree — from a university
  23. mine — for digging
  24. scale — size or range

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