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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: cell · capital · date · pop · row · chair

  1. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  2. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  8. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  9. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  10. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  11. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  12. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  13. We're almost out of ________________.
  14. You don't need to ________________ round.
  15. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  16. Have you settled on a ________________?
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in biology
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. capital — money
  5. row — a line
  6. capital — a city
  7. row — to paddle
  8. chair — a leader
  9. date — the fruit
  10. pop — music
  11. chair — to sit on
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. pop — soda
  14. pop — to visit
  15. chair — a professorship
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. cell — a phone

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