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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: dip · roll · rash · scale · fork · capital · fall · cell

  1. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  2. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  5. Don't do anything ________________.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  9. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  10. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  11. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  12. We're on a ________________ here.
  13. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  14. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  15. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  16. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  20. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  21. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  24. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — a garden tool
  2. dip — to dunk
  3. capital — money
  4. dip — to sink
  5. rash — hasty
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. cell — in biology
  8. fork — in a road
  9. scale — in music
  10. fall — to drop
  11. rash — a series
  12. roll — on a roll
  13. scale — for weighing
  14. rash — on the skin
  15. scale — size or range
  16. fall — to drop
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. cell — a phone
  19. dip — a sauce
  20. fork — to eat with
  21. fall — the season
  22. capital — a city
  23. roll — a cake
  24. roll — a list

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