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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 120 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.

Words on the sheet
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 · rush · capital · coach · mouse · bear · cold · key

  1. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. Have you met the new head ________________?
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  5. That must've been a ________________.
  6. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  7. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  8. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  9. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  10. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  13. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  14. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  15. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  21. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  22. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  23. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  24. This piece is in a major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. capital — a city
  4. scale — in music
  5. rush — a thrill
  6. coach — pulled by horses
  7. mouse — the animal
  8. mouse — the animal
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. scale — for weighing
  11. cold — an illness
  12. bear — the animal
  13. rush — to hurry
  14. bear — to put up with
  15. bear — the animal
  16. capital — money
  17. cold — not warm
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. key — the most important part
  21. key — for a lock
  22. scale — size or range
  23. mouse — for a computer
  24. key — in music

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