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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 120 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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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: chest · swing · capital · chair · scale · bowl

  1. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  5. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  8. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  15. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  16. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. David sat on the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. swing — music
  3. chest — of your body
  4. scale — for weighing
  5. swing — in golf
  6. chest — of your body
  7. scale — in music
  8. bowl — to roll
  9. capital — a city
  10. chest — a box
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. scale — size or range
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. chair — a leader
  15. bowl — a football final
  16. bowl — a dish
  17. capital — money
  18. swing — to play on

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