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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: capital · roll · scale · kick · court · date · band · firm

  1. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  2. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  6. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  7. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. Have you settled on a ________________?
  12. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  18. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  19. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. The ball is in your ________________.
  22. We're on a ________________ here.
  23. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  24. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — steady
  2. scale — size or range
  3. band — a music group
  4. court — of law
  5. scale — in music
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. kick — in football
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. roll — a cake
  10. court — of a king
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. date — the fruit
  13. capital — a city
  14. capital — money
  15. firm — decided
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. kick — a thrill
  18. firm — a company
  19. kick — with a leg
  20. band — a ring
  21. court — for sport
  22. roll — on a roll
  23. scale — for weighing
  24. roll — a list

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