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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
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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: scale · face · row · capital · stem · rule

  1. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  6. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  7. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  8. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  9. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  10. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  11. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  12. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  17. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  18. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. face — part of the head
  3. row — a line
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. face — to confront
  6. scale — in music
  7. stem — of a plant
  8. row — to paddle
  9. rule — a law
  10. stem — a stem cell
  11. rule — to rule out
  12. stem — to come from
  13. capital — money
  14. rule — government
  15. capital — a city
  16. face — to point toward
  17. scale — for weighing
  18. scale — size or range

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