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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: clip · rock · scale · stand · kid · foot · fall · capital

  1. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  2. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  7. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  10. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  11. I can't ________________ this cold.
  12. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  13. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  14. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  15. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  16. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  20. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  21. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. stand — on your feet
  2. foot — part of the body
  3. capital — a city
  4. clip — a video
  5. clip — for paper
  6. rock — a stone
  7. scale — in music
  8. kid — child
  9. fall — to drop
  10. foot — a measure
  11. stand — to bear
  12. scale — size or range
  13. scale — for weighing
  14. rock — music
  15. fall — to drop
  16. rock — to move gently
  17. clip — to cut
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. stand — for spectators
  20. foot — the bottom
  21. fall — the season
  22. capital — money
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. kid — to tease

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