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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: row · scale · cabinet · degree · bank · capital · lie · chest

  1. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  2. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  3. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  6. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. What do you think of the new ________________?
  9. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. lie — to recline
  2. lie — an untruth
  3. scale — in music
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. cabinet — a cupboard
  6. bank — of a river
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. chest — of your body
  11. lie — an untruth
  12. degree — temperature
  13. scale — size or range
  14. chest — a box
  15. capital — money
  16. scale — for weighing
  17. capital — a city
  18. degree — from a university
  19. bank — for money
  20. row — a line
  21. chest — of your body
  22. bank — for money
  23. row — to paddle
  24. degree — an amount

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