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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.

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 · face · board · cold · drill · capital · vault · staff

  1. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  3. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  4. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  5. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  6. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  7. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  10. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  11. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  14. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  15. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  16. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  17. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  18. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  19. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. vault — a safe
  3. board — a flat piece
  4. drill — a practice
  5. drill — army training
  6. scale — size or range
  7. face — part of the head
  8. cold — not warm
  9. staff — a stick
  10. scale — for weighing
  11. face — to confront
  12. cold — an illness
  13. drill — the tool
  14. face — to point toward
  15. staff — employees
  16. vault — an arched ceiling
  17. board — to get on
  18. board — a committee
  19. scale — in music
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. staff — employees
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. capital — money
  24. vault — in gymnastics

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