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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.

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 · mouse · track · capital · content · march · cell · roll

  1. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  5. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  10. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  11. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  12. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  13. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  14. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  15. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. We're on a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. capital — money
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. scale — in music
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. cell — in biology
  8. march — music
  9. scale — size or range
  10. mouse — the animal
  11. track — a song
  12. roll — a list
  13. mouse — for a computer
  14. track — to keep track
  15. roll — a cake
  16. cell — a phone
  17. scale — for weighing
  18. content — the amount
  19. march — the month
  20. content — happy
  21. march — the month
  22. track — a path
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. roll — on a roll

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