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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: capital · scale · present · fall · bank · row

  1. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  3. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  6. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  7. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  10. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  11. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  12. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  13. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  14. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  17. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  18. I had a ________________ with my boss today.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. bank — of a river
  3. bank — for money
  4. capital — money
  5. fall — the season
  6. bank — for money
  7. scale — size or range
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. row — a line
  10. present — there
  11. scale — for weighing
  12. fall — to drop
  13. scale — in music
  14. fall — to drop
  15. row — to paddle
  16. present — the time now
  17. present — a gift
  18. row — a quarrel

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