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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: cue · wind · scale · fork · hide · bark · degree · rash

  1. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  4. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  5. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  6. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  7. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  8. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  9. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. Don't do anything ________________.
  15. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  16. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  22. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  23. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a signal
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. fork — a garden tool
  4. hide — animal skin
  5. fork — in a road
  6. scale — in music
  7. cue — for pool
  8. rash — a series
  9. scale — size or range
  10. bark — to shout
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. degree — from a university
  14. rash — hasty
  15. cue — a hint
  16. rash — on the skin
  17. degree — an amount
  18. degree — temperature
  19. bark — of a tree
  20. wind — moving air
  21. fork — to eat with
  22. scale — for weighing
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. wind — moving air

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