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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: capital · rock · scale · rash · prune · board · row · spell

  1. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. Don't do anything ________________.
  8. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  9. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  10. How do you ________________ your surname?
  11. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  12. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  15. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  16. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  17. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  18. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  19. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  20. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  23. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  24. A ________________ is just a dried plum.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — size or range
  2. capital — a city
  3. scale — for weighing
  4. capital — money
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. rash — hasty
  8. rock — a stone
  9. board — a committee
  10. spell — letters
  11. board — to get on
  12. spell — a short time
  13. row — to paddle
  14. rash — on the skin
  15. spell — magic
  16. prune — to trim
  17. prune — to trim
  18. rock — music
  19. board — a flat piece
  20. rock — to move gently
  21. row — a line
  22. rash — a series
  23. scale — in music
  24. prune — the fruit

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