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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: racket · cold · branch · ball · capital · dip · chair · scale

  1. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  2. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  5. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  6. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  10. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  11. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  12. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  13. The King held a masked ________________.
  14. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  15. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  16. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  24. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — size or range
  2. ball — a round shape
  3. chair — a leader
  4. dip — to dunk
  5. branch — of a tree
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. branch — a division
  10. chair — to sit on
  11. branch — of a bank
  12. ball — a great time
  13. ball — a dance
  14. chair — a professorship
  15. racket — a loud noise
  16. scale — for weighing
  17. cold — not warm
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. cold — an illness
  20. dip — a sauce
  21. capital — a city
  22. capital — money
  23. scale — in music
  24. dip — to sink

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