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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.

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: scale · game · tube · degree · spring · bay · mouse · rock

  1. That was a fun ________________.
  2. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  5. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  6. I'll be taking the ________________.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  9. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  12. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  16. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. My mare is ________________ in color.
  23. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  24. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. rock — a stone
  3. degree — an amount
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. bay — to keep at bay
  6. tube — the underground
  7. spring — the season
  8. tube — a container
  9. mouse — the animal
  10. game — wild animals
  11. mouse — for a computer
  12. scale — for weighing
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. spring — a coil
  15. rock — to move gently
  16. rock — music
  17. degree — from a university
  18. bay — a part of the sea
  19. spring — of water
  20. tube — in a tire
  21. degree — temperature
  22. bay — a horse colour
  23. scale — size or range
  24. scale — in music

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