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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: charge · capital · chest · bank · dip · spell · court · scale

  1. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  2. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  5. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  6. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  7. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. The tickets are free of ________________.
  18. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  19. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  22. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  23. How do you ________________ your surname?
  24. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — size or range
  2. scale — in music
  3. court — for sport
  4. dip — to dunk
  5. spell — a short time
  6. bank — for money
  7. charge — in control
  8. chest — of your body
  9. spell — magic
  10. chest — of your body
  11. bank — for money
  12. court — of a king
  13. court — of law
  14. capital — money
  15. chest — a box
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. charge — a price
  18. scale — for weighing
  19. dip — a sauce
  20. capital — a city
  21. charge — electricity
  22. bank — of a river
  23. spell — letters
  24. dip — to sink

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