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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: wax · vault · chip · scale · kid · perch · capital · rash

  1. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  3. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  4. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  5. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  6. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  11. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  12. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  13. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  14. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  15. Don't do anything ________________.
  16. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  17. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  22. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. scale — for weighing
  3. chip — in a computer
  4. chip — to eat
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. capital — money
  8. vault — a safe
  9. kid — to tease
  10. wax — to grow
  11. vault — an arched ceiling
  12. vault — in gymnastics
  13. wax — for sculpting
  14. wax — in the ear
  15. rash — hasty
  16. scale — in music
  17. rash — a series
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. chip — for betting
  20. kid — child
  21. rash — on the skin
  22. scale — size or range
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. perch — the fish

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