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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.

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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: capital · scale · leaves · spell · pound · wound · court · rush

  1. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  2. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. That must've been a ________________.
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  11. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  14. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  15. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  19. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  20. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  24. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — size or range
  2. spell — magic
  3. spell — letters
  4. pound — for dogs
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. capital — a city
  7. wound — an injury
  8. rush — a thrill
  9. wound — an injury
  10. pound — to hit hard
  11. pound — a weight
  12. court — of law
  13. rush — to hurry
  14. leaves — to go away
  15. leaves — lets stay
  16. court — for sport
  17. capital — money
  18. scale — in music
  19. leaves — of a tree
  20. rush — hurry
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. court — of a king
  23. spell — a short time
  24. scale — for weighing

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