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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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468
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: scale · fan · fall · racket · bound · cell · capital · cap

  1. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  2. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  6. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  7. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  8. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  9. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  10. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  11. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  18. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  21. That was ________________ to happen.
  22. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  23. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  24. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — obliged
  2. fan — to cool the air
  3. cell — in biology
  4. capital — money
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. scale — size or range
  7. racket — a loud noise
  8. fall — to drop
  9. cap — of ice
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. cap — a lid
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. fall — to drop
  14. cell — a phone
  15. scale — for weighing
  16. capital — a city
  17. cap — a hat
  18. fall — the season
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. bound — certain
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. scale — in music
  24. bound — tied together

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