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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: chair · fan · bank · craft · capital · scale · cold · object

  1. The water is too ________________.
  2. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  3. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  6. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  9. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  10. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  14. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  17. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  18. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  19. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  20. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  21. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  24. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. object — to protest
  3. chair — to sit on
  4. capital — a city
  5. fan — to cool the air
  6. scale — for weighing
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. scale — size or range
  10. object — an aim
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. capital — money
  13. chair — a leader
  14. bank — of a river
  15. cold — an illness
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. bank — for money
  18. bank — for money
  19. craft — a skill
  20. object — a thing
  21. scale — in music
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. craft — boats
  24. craft — a handicraft

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