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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: capital · chest · rest · scale · rush · ground · drill · charge

  1. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  4. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  5. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  6. There's no middle ________________.
  7. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. The tickets are free of ________________.
  10. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  11. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  12. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  13. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  14. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. That must've been a ________________.
  18. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  24. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — a break
  2. chest — of your body
  3. rest — what's left
  4. drill — a practice
  5. scale — for weighing
  6. ground — a position
  7. charge — electricity
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. charge — a price
  10. rest — what's left
  11. drill — the tool
  12. drill — army training
  13. charge — in control
  14. scale — size or range
  15. capital — a city
  16. chest — a box
  17. rush — a thrill
  18. ground — crushed
  19. capital — money
  20. chest — of your body
  21. rush — hurry
  22. ground — the earth
  23. rush — to hurry
  24. scale — 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