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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: ground · bound · land · scale · key · spell · capital · jam

  1. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  5. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  6. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  7. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  8. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  11. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  14. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. This piece is in a major ________________.
  17. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  20. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  24. That was ________________ to happen.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — in music
  2. capital — money
  3. spell — letters
  4. ground — the earth
  5. key — for a lock
  6. jam — in traffic
  7. jam — a tight spot
  8. scale — size or range
  9. capital — a city
  10. spell — magic
  11. ground — crushed
  12. land — ground
  13. scale — for weighing
  14. key — the most important part
  15. ground — a position
  16. key — in music
  17. bound — tied together
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. spell — a short time
  20. bound — obliged
  21. land — a country
  22. land — to come down
  23. jam — to spread on bread
  24. bound — certain

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