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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.

Make a worksheet

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
468
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: clip · bat · mine · degree · scale · ruler · charge · racket

  1. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  9. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. The tickets are free of ________________.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  16. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  17. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  24. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. degree — an amount
  4. scale — size or range
  5. degree — from a university
  6. charge — electricity
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. ruler — for measuring
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. charge — a price
  12. mine — for digging
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. bat — the animal
  15. ruler — for measuring
  16. scale — in music
  17. scale — for weighing
  18. clip — a video
  19. ruler — a monarch
  20. clip — to cut
  21. clip — for paper
  22. degree — temperature
  23. charge — in control
  24. racket — a loud noise

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