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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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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 · plane · kid · spell · bat · clip · vault · degree

  1. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  6. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  7. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. The ________________ took off on time.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  19. How do you ________________ your surname?
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  23. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. plane — a tool
  2. kid — child
  3. spell — magic
  4. kid — to tease
  5. plane — in geometry
  6. spell — a short time
  7. scale — in music
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. plane — an aircraft
  10. clip — for paper
  11. degree — temperature
  12. vault — in gymnastics
  13. degree — an amount
  14. vault — an arched ceiling
  15. bat — the animal
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. clip — a video
  18. scale — size or range
  19. spell — letters
  20. clip — to cut
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. scale — for weighing
  23. vault — a safe
  24. degree — from a university

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