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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: bass · clip · scale · cabinet · capital · drill · roll · perch

  1. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  4. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  5. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  6. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  7. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  8. We're on a ________________ here.
  9. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  10. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  11. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  12. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  17. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  18. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  21. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  22. What do you think of the new ________________?
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — a cake
  2. clip — to cut
  3. scale — size or range
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. bass — low music
  6. drill — army training
  7. scale — for weighing
  8. roll — on a roll
  9. bass — the instrument
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. scale — in music
  12. perch — the fish
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. capital — money
  15. clip — a video
  16. drill — the tool
  17. roll — a list
  18. drill — a practice
  19. capital — a city
  20. cabinet — a cupboard
  21. bass — the fish
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. clip — for paper
  24. perch — for a bird

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