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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 116 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: shower · face · deal · spring · capital · wind · net · scale

  1. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  2. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  7. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  13. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  14. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  20. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  23. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. net — for catching
  2. scale — for weighing
  3. net — in sport
  4. spring — a coil
  5. shower — rain
  6. face — to point toward
  7. scale — in music
  8. capital — money
  9. wind — moving air
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. spring — the season
  12. net — after costs
  13. scale — size or range
  14. deal — an agreement
  15. spring — of water
  16. shower — to wash
  17. capital — a city
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. face — to confront
  20. deal — to handle
  21. wind — moving air
  22. deal — a big deal
  23. face — part of the head
  24. wind — to turn a key

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