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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: mate · capital · scale · deal · lean · squash · fall · bowl

  1. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  2. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  5. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  6. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  7. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  8. Have you found your soul ________________?
  9. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  10. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  13. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  14. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  15. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  16. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  17. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  20. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  21. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  22. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  23. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  24. He is as ________________ as a wolf.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — to crush
  2. bowl — a dish
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. squash — the sport
  5. mate — to breed
  6. scale — for weighing
  7. deal — a big deal
  8. mate — a partner
  9. fall — to drop
  10. fall — the season
  11. capital — money
  12. lean — to rest against
  13. deal — to handle
  14. lean — to bend
  15. deal — an agreement
  16. squash — the vegetable
  17. bowl — to roll
  18. capital — a city
  19. mate — a friend
  20. bowl — a football final
  21. scale — size or range
  22. scale — in music
  23. fall — to drop
  24. lean — thin

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