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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.

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 · content · rash · arm · fork · bound · deal · degree

  1. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  3. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  4. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. My father caught me by the ________________.
  7. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  8. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  9. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  10. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  11. Don't do anything ________________.
  12. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  17. That was ________________ to happen.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  20. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  23. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  24. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. fork — to eat with
  3. fork — a garden tool
  4. bound — tied together
  5. content — happy
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. bound — obliged
  8. scale — for weighing
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. arm — a part of something
  11. rash — hasty
  12. deal — a big deal
  13. degree — from a university
  14. rash — on the skin
  15. content — the amount
  16. scale — in music
  17. bound — certain
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. deal — to handle
  20. rash — a series
  21. degree — temperature
  22. deal — an agreement
  23. scale — size or range
  24. fork — in a road

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