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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 · row · pitcher · wind · tear · scale

  1. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  4. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  7. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. He is an ace ________________.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. row — to paddle
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. wind — moving air
  6. scale — for weighing
  7. scale — in music
  8. tear — from crying
  9. capital — money
  10. row — a line
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. pitcher — in baseball
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. tear — from crying
  16. tear — to rip
  17. capital — a city
  18. scale — size or range

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