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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: rest · capital · scale · game · present · spell · trunk · perch

  1. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. That was a fun ________________.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  6. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  9. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  10. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  11. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  12. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  13. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  14. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  15. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  18. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  19. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  20. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  21. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  22. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. game — a match
  3. capital — money
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. trunk — of a car
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. spell — letters
  8. present — the time now
  9. scale — in music
  10. trunk — of a tree
  11. present — a gift
  12. rest — a break
  13. scale — size or range
  14. rest — what's left
  15. spell — magic
  16. game — wild animals
  17. scale — for weighing
  18. rest — what's left
  19. perch — the fish
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. spell — a short time
  22. present — there
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. capital — a big letter

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