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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: degree · cabinet · shower · chair · scale · straw · object · race

  1. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  2. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  6. What do you think of the new ________________?
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  13. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  16. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  17. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  20. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  21. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  22. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  23. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  24. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.

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

Answer key

  1. object — to protest
  2. race — a contest
  3. degree — temperature
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. cabinet — ministers
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. shower — rain
  10. degree — an amount
  11. degree — from a university
  12. scale — for weighing
  13. scale — size or range
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. race — humankind
  16. scale — in music
  17. chair — a professorship
  18. shower — to wash
  19. race — the arms race
  20. chair — to sit on
  21. object — an aim
  22. object — a thing
  23. cabinet — a cupboard
  24. chair — a leader

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