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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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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 · ground · swing · stem · lean · race · wind · capital

  1. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  2. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  3. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. David sat on the ________________.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  15. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  16. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  23. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  24. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — thin
  2. stem — of a plant
  3. scale — for weighing
  4. capital — money
  5. swing — to play on
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. ground — the earth
  8. scale — in music
  9. race — a contest
  10. lean — to bend
  11. ground — a position
  12. race — humankind
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. ground — crushed
  15. swing — music
  16. stem — a stem cell
  17. wind — moving air
  18. race — the arms race
  19. capital — a city
  20. lean — to rest against
  21. wind — moving air
  22. stem — to come from
  23. scale — size or range
  24. swing — in golf

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