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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: saw · last · chair · capital · scale · patient · cabinet · spell

  1. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. He works in a ________________ mill.
  4. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  11. How do you ________________ your surname?
  12. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  13. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  14. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  15. What do you think of the new ________________?
  16. She's very handy with a ________________.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  19. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  20. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  21. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  22. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  23. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  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. spell — magic
  2. capital — a city
  3. saw — the tool
  4. saw — past of 'see'
  5. capital — money
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. last — finally
  8. last — to go on
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. spell — letters
  12. scale — in music
  13. spell — a short time
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. saw — the tool
  17. last — final
  18. chair — a professorship
  19. scale — size or range
  20. patient — calm and waiting
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. chair — a leader
  23. cabinet — a cupboard
  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