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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.

Make a worksheet

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: file · scale · cold · capital · cabinet · lie · row · coach

  1. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  4. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  5. What do you think of the new ________________?
  6. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  15. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  16. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  17. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  18. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. Have you met the new head ________________?
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a document
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. coach — pulled by horses
  4. lie — an untruth
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. scale — in music
  7. file — a tool
  8. capital — a city
  9. cold — not warm
  10. row — to paddle
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. lie — to recline
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. scale — for weighing
  15. scale — size or range
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. cabinet — a cupboard
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. file — a line of people
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. capital — money
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. cold — an illness
  24. row — a line

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