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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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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: root · lean · swing · fine · cell · scale · chest · capital

  1. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  8. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  9. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  10. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  13. David sat on the ________________.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  16. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  19. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  23. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  24. He is as ________________ as a wolf.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — for weighing
  2. capital — a city
  3. scale — size or range
  4. cell — a phone
  5. chest — of your body
  6. capital — money
  7. lean — to bend
  8. lean — to rest against
  9. fine — high quality
  10. fine — all right
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. root — of a plant
  13. swing — to play on
  14. chest — a box
  15. swing — in golf
  16. scale — in music
  17. chest — of your body
  18. root — of a word
  19. root — the cause
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. cell — in biology
  22. swing — music
  23. fine — a penalty
  24. lean — thin

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