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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: wind · stand · scale · capital · tear · cabinet

  1. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  2. What do you think of the new ________________?
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  7. I can't ________________ this cold.
  8. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  9. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  18. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — a cupboard
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. tear — from crying
  4. wind — moving air
  5. tear — to rip
  6. stand — for spectators
  7. stand — to bear
  8. stand — on your feet
  9. scale — in music
  10. tear — from crying
  11. scale — for weighing
  12. capital — money
  13. wind — moving air
  14. capital — a city
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. scale — size or range
  18. cabinet — ministers

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