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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.

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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: arm · saw · degree · game · fan · scale · cue · chest

  1. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  6. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  9. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  14. My father caught me by the ________________.
  15. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  16. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. She's very handy with a ________________.
  20. He works in a ________________ mill.
  21. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  22. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  23. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. chest — of your body
  3. arm — a part of something
  4. game — wild animals
  5. scale — for weighing
  6. scale — in music
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. game — a match
  11. scale — size or range
  12. degree — an amount
  13. fan — to cool the air
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. cue — a signal
  16. saw — past of 'see'
  17. chest — a box
  18. chest — of your body
  19. saw — the tool
  20. saw — the tool
  21. cue — a hint
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. cue — for pool
  24. degree — temperature

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