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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 · capital · kid · spring · arm · mark · ruler · pitcher

  1. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  5. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  6. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  9. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  10. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  11. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  12. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  16. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  17. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. My father caught me by the ________________.
  21. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. spring — of water
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. scale — size or range
  5. mark — a trace
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. ruler — a monarch
  9. mark — a grade
  10. ruler — for measuring
  11. arm — a part of something
  12. scale — in music
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. capital — money
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. scale — for weighing
  18. spring — the season
  19. spring — a coil
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. mark — to pay attention
  22. kid — child
  23. ruler — for measuring
  24. capital — a city

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