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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.

Make a worksheet

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: chair · tear · pit · capital · scale · march

  1. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  2. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  5. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  16. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — size or range
  2. pit — a fruit stone
  3. tear — from crying
  4. pit — a hole
  5. scale — for weighing
  6. tear — to rip
  7. scale — in music
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. march — music
  10. capital — a city
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. tear — from crying
  13. march — the month
  14. march — the month
  15. chair — a leader
  16. pit — in a race
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. capital — money

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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