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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 · hand · capital · tube · ground · cabinet · bass · rule

  1. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. I'll be taking the ________________.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  6. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  7. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  10. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  11. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  12. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  13. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  14. There's no middle ________________.
  15. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  16. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  17. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  18. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  19. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  20. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  21. What do you think of the new ________________?
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — part of the body
  2. capital — a city
  3. tube — the underground
  4. hand — in cards
  5. scale — in music
  6. bass — the instrument
  7. rule — to rule out
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. bass — low music
  10. bass — the fish
  11. ground — crushed
  12. rule — a law
  13. rule — government
  14. ground — a position
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. tube — in a tire
  17. scale — for weighing
  18. ground — the earth
  19. cabinet — a cupboard
  20. scale — size or range
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. hand — help
  23. capital — money
  24. tube — a container

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