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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 120 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: vault · scale · face · perch · stick · capital · season · content

  1. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  3. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  7. Did you ________________ the meat?
  8. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  9. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  10. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  11. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  14. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  15. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  16. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  17. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  18. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  19. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  23. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. face — part of the head
  4. content — happy
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. scale — in music
  7. season — to add flavour
  8. vault — an arched ceiling
  9. scale — for weighing
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. vault — a safe
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. season — of the year
  15. perch — the fish
  16. face — to confront
  17. face — to point toward
  18. vault — in gymnastics
  19. stick — a piece of wood
  20. season — in sport
  21. capital — a city
  22. scale — size or range
  23. stick — to attach or keep to
  24. capital — money

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