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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: scale · tear · fall · deal · face · net · stock · degree

  1. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  2. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  3. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  4. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  5. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  6. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  13. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  16. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  17. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  18. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  21. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  24. The ________________ market has crashed.

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

Answer key

  1. net — for catching
  2. fall — the season
  3. scale — size or range
  4. fall — to drop
  5. deal — to handle
  6. stock — goods
  7. degree — an amount
  8. tear — from crying
  9. face — to confront
  10. tear — from crying
  11. degree — from a university
  12. fall — to drop
  13. deal — a big deal
  14. net — in sport
  15. face — part of the head
  16. stock — a soup base
  17. scale — for weighing
  18. face — to point toward
  19. degree — temperature
  20. scale — in music
  21. deal — an agreement
  22. tear — to rip
  23. net — after costs
  24. stock — shares

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