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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
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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: march · degree · row · ball · chest · stem · scale · deal

  1. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  2. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  17. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  18. The King held a masked ________________.
  19. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  20. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  21. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  22. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. scale — in music
  3. row — a line
  4. degree — from a university
  5. ball — a round shape
  6. chest — of your body
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. chest — a box
  9. stem — to come from
  10. march — the month
  11. scale — for weighing
  12. degree — an amount
  13. march — the month
  14. degree — temperature
  15. row — to paddle
  16. deal — to handle
  17. deal — a big deal
  18. ball — a dance
  19. deal — an agreement
  20. stem — of a plant
  21. scale — size or range
  22. ball — a great time
  23. march — music
  24. stem — a stem cell

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