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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: saw · craft · present · scale · cold · deal · chest · capital

  1. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. He works in a ________________ mill.
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  7. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  8. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  9. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  10. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  11. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  12. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  13. She's very handy with a ________________.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  17. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  20. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — an agreement
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. capital — money
  4. saw — the tool
  5. chest — a box
  6. craft — boats
  7. scale — in music
  8. present — a gift
  9. scale — for weighing
  10. present — the time now
  11. deal — to handle
  12. present — there
  13. saw — the tool
  14. capital — a city
  15. cold — not warm
  16. saw — past of 'see'
  17. craft — a skill
  18. chest — of your body
  19. scale — size or range
  20. craft — a handicraft
  21. cold — an illness
  22. deal — a big deal
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. chest — of your body

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