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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 · fork · mark · pop · chest · club · court · scale

  1. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  5. You don't need to ________________ round.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  10. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  11. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. We're almost out of ________________.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  16. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  20. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  23. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  24. She got the top ________________ in the exam.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. scale — for weighing
  3. chest — of your body
  4. mark — a trace
  5. pop — to visit
  6. chest — of your body
  7. scale — in music
  8. capital — money
  9. fork — a garden tool
  10. fork — to eat with
  11. mark — to pay attention
  12. court — of a king
  13. pop — soda
  14. court — of law
  15. club — a group
  16. fork — in a road
  17. court — for sport
  18. chest — a box
  19. scale — size or range
  20. club — for dancing
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. pop — music
  23. club — for golf
  24. mark — a grade

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