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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.

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 · board · scale · fine · pass · cold · fan · fork

  1. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  4. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  5. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  8. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  9. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  10. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  11. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  12. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  16. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  17. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  18. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  19. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  20. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  23. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  24. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. capital — money
  3. pass — to spend time
  4. pass — a permit
  5. board — a committee
  6. cold — not warm
  7. fan — to cool the air
  8. fine — high quality
  9. fine — all right
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. scale — for weighing
  12. fine — a penalty
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. cold — an illness
  15. board — a flat piece
  16. scale — size or range
  17. fork — a garden tool
  18. fork — to eat with
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. pass — to succeed
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. board — to get on
  23. scale — in music
  24. fork — in a road

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