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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 116 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: shower · can · coach · scale · chair · capital · spring · stand

  1. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. Have you met the new head ________________?
  5. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  6. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  7. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  8. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  9. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  10. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  11. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  20. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  21. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  22. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  23. I can't ________________ this cold.
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. spring — of water
  3. shower — to wash
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. scale — in music
  6. stand — for spectators
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. chair — a leader
  9. stand — on your feet
  10. chair — to sit on
  11. coach — pulled by horses
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. can — a tin
  14. capital — money
  15. spring — a coil
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. shower — rain
  18. spring — the season
  19. can — a tin
  20. can — to be able to
  21. scale — size or range
  22. scale — for weighing
  23. stand — to bear
  24. capital — a city

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