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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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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: kid · coach · chair · perch · kick · pass · capital · scale

  1. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  6. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  7. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. Have you met the new head ________________?
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  18. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  19. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  20. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  21. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  22. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  23. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  24. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — in football
  2. kid — child
  3. kick — with a leg
  4. kid — to tease
  5. perch — the fish
  6. scale — for weighing
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. capital — money
  9. capital — a city
  10. kick — a thrill
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. coach — pulled by horses
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. pass — to succeed
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. chair — a leader
  20. pass — a permit
  21. pass — to spend time
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. scale — size or range
  24. scale — in music

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