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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.

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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: tear · scale · capital · bay · mine · row · lean · fine

  1. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  3. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  8. My mare is ________________ in color.
  9. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  12. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  24. I assure you, everything's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. lean — thin
  3. scale — for weighing
  4. tear — from crying
  5. bay — a part of the sea
  6. capital — a city
  7. lean — to rest against
  8. bay — a horse colour
  9. lean — to bend
  10. tear — to rip
  11. fine — a penalty
  12. fine — high quality
  13. tear — from crying
  14. bay — to keep at bay
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. row — a line
  18. capital — money
  19. scale — size or range
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. row — to paddle
  23. scale — in music
  24. fine — all right

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