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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: lie · coach · capital · pop · fine · row · chest · scale

  1. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. We're almost out of ________________.
  7. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  8. Have you met the new head ________________?
  9. You don't need to ________________ round.
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  13. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  16. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  17. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  18. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  19. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  22. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  23. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — all right
  2. chest — of your body
  3. chest — a box
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. chest — of your body
  6. pop — soda
  7. fine — high quality
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. pop — to visit
  10. row — to paddle
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. pop — music
  13. coach — pulled by horses
  14. row — a line
  15. scale — in music
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. scale — for weighing
  18. row — a quarrel
  19. scale — size or range
  20. capital — a city
  21. fine — a penalty
  22. lie — to recline
  23. lie — an untruth
  24. capital — money

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