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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: scale · straw · cell · court · rash · capital · cabinet · lean

  1. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  2. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. What do you think of the new ________________?
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  21. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  22. Don't do anything ________________.
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — size or range
  2. lean — to bend
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. capital — a city
  6. cabinet — ministers
  7. capital — money
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. rash — on the skin
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. lean — thin
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. lean — to rest against
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. scale — in music
  16. court — of a king
  17. cell — a phone
  18. court — of law
  19. cell — in biology
  20. cabinet — a cupboard
  21. scale — for weighing
  22. rash — hasty
  23. court — for sport
  24. rash — a series

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