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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.

Words on the sheet
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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 · wind · mate · drill · field

  1. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  5. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  8. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  17. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  18. Have you found your soul ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. capital — a city
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. drill — a practice
  5. scale — in music
  6. field — for sport
  7. drill — the tool
  8. drill — army training
  9. capital — money
  10. field — a subject
  11. scale — size or range
  12. wind — moving air
  13. mate — a friend
  14. field — farmland
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. mate — to breed
  17. scale — for weighing
  18. mate — a partner

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