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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 120 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: mate · degree · march · board · tube · object · land · scale

  1. I'll be taking the ________________.
  2. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  3. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  4. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  5. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  6. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  7. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  8. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  9. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  10. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  22. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  23. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  24. Have you found your soul ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. tube — the underground
  2. march — the month
  3. tube — a container
  4. object — an aim
  5. board — a flat piece
  6. scale — size or range
  7. mate — to breed
  8. board — a committee
  9. scale — in music
  10. mate — a friend
  11. land — a country
  12. land — to come down
  13. degree — from a university
  14. object — a thing
  15. march — the month
  16. march — music
  17. scale — for weighing
  18. land — ground
  19. degree — temperature
  20. degree — an amount
  21. object — to protest
  22. tube — in a tire
  23. board — to get on
  24. mate — a partner

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