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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 120 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 · rest · trunk · scale · pop · staff · mine · bank

  1. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  2. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  3. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  8. We're almost out of ________________.
  9. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  10. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. You don't need to ________________ round.
  13. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  14. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  15. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  16. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  17. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  20. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  23. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  24. I've got the luggage in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — music
  2. staff — employees
  3. scale — size or range
  4. capital — a city
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. bank — for money
  8. pop — soda
  9. trunk — of an elephant
  10. bank — of a river
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. pop — to visit
  13. rest — a break
  14. rest — what's left
  15. bank — for money
  16. scale — in music
  17. scale — for weighing
  18. mine — for digging
  19. trunk — of a tree
  20. rest — what's left
  21. capital — money
  22. staff — a stick
  23. staff — employees
  24. trunk — of a car

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