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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: wave · clip · capital · scale · rash · fall · mug · stick

  1. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  2. Don't do anything ________________.
  3. Where did you ________________ them?
  4. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  8. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  9. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  10. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  13. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  16. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  20. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  23. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  24. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — for weighing
  2. rash — hasty
  3. mug — to rob
  4. wave — with your hand
  5. clip — for paper
  6. capital — a city
  7. wave — of the sea
  8. fall — the season
  9. wave — a sudden rise
  10. mug — a face
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. scale — in music
  14. capital — money
  15. stick — to attach or keep to
  16. rash — a series
  17. fall — to drop
  18. clip — to cut
  19. mug — a cup
  20. rash — on the skin
  21. clip — a video
  22. scale — size or range
  23. fall — to drop
  24. stick — a piece of wood

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