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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 · wind · capital · patient · object · fall

  1. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  4. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  5. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  8. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  9. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  10. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  11. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  12. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  18. 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. patient — calm and waiting
  2. capital — a city
  3. fall — the season
  4. object — a thing
  5. object — to protest
  6. wind — moving air
  7. scale — size or range
  8. object — an aim
  9. fall — to drop
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. scale — in music
  12. scale — for weighing
  13. wind — moving air
  14. capital — money
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. fall — to drop
  18. 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