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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: bear · club · fine · game · capital · scale · kid · ruler

  1. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  6. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  9. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  10. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  11. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  12. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  13. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  14. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  15. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  24. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for golf
  2. kid — to tease
  3. scale — for weighing
  4. capital — a city
  5. scale — in music
  6. club — a group
  7. kid — child
  8. scale — size or range
  9. ruler — a monarch
  10. bear — the animal
  11. bear — to put up with
  12. club — for dancing
  13. bear — the animal
  14. ruler — for measuring
  15. fine — high quality
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. game — a match
  19. fine — a penalty
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. game — wild animals
  22. capital — money
  23. fine — all right
  24. ruler — for measuring

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