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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: bowl · scale · chair · dip · wind · capital

  1. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  4. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  7. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  12. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  16. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  17. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  18. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. bowl — a dish
  4. scale — size or range
  5. wind — moving air
  6. bowl — a football final
  7. bowl — to roll
  8. capital — a city
  9. capital — money
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. scale — for weighing
  12. dip — a sauce
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. wind — moving air
  15. chair — to sit on
  16. scale — in music
  17. dip — to dunk
  18. dip — to sink

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