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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: stock · pitch · degree · ground · rule · scale · hide · tear

  1. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. The ________________ market has crashed.
  6. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  11. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  12. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  13. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  17. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  18. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  19. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  20. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  23. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  24. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — the earth
  2. ground — crushed
  3. tear — from crying
  4. degree — an amount
  5. stock — shares
  6. scale — in music
  7. degree — from a university
  8. hide — animal skin
  9. tear — to rip
  10. scale — size or range
  11. rule — a law
  12. pitch — a sales talk
  13. rule — to rule out
  14. tear — from crying
  15. ground — a position
  16. pitch — completely
  17. rule — government
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. pitch — a sports field
  20. stock — a soup base
  21. degree — temperature
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. stock — goods
  24. scale — for weighing

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