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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 · bore · rash · face · leaves · bat · net · stock

  1. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  2. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  3. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  4. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  5. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  6. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  7. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  8. Don't do anything ________________.
  9. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  10. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  13. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  14. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  15. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  20. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  21. The ________________ market has crashed.
  22. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  23. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  24. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. rash — a series
  3. face — part of the head
  4. scale — in music
  5. stock — a soup base
  6. scale — for weighing
  7. stock — goods
  8. rash — hasty
  9. face — to point toward
  10. scale — size or range
  11. net — for catching
  12. bore — to tire
  13. leaves — to go away
  14. leaves — of a tree
  15. rash — on the skin
  16. bat — the animal
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. net — after costs
  20. bore — gave birth
  21. stock — shares
  22. net — in sport
  23. bore — to drill
  24. leaves — lets stay

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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