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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: face · scale · fall · date · prune · degree · stem · pop

  1. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  4. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  7. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  8. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  9. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  10. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  11. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  12. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  13. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  14. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  15. We're almost out of ________________.
  16. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  17. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  18. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  19. You don't need to ________________ round.
  20. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  21. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  22. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  23. Have you settled on a ________________?
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. degree — from a university
  3. fall — the season
  4. fall — to drop
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. stem — a stem cell
  7. face — part of the head
  8. scale — for weighing
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. face — to confront
  11. stem — to come from
  12. stem — of a plant
  13. fall — to drop
  14. prune — to trim
  15. pop — soda
  16. prune — to trim
  17. date — the fruit
  18. scale — size or range
  19. pop — to visit
  20. face — to point toward
  21. scale — in music
  22. pop — music
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. degree — an amount

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