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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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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: bank · bat · capital · wax · cell · cap

  1. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  2. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  10. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  18. The moon will ________________ and wane.

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

Answer key

  1. bank — of a river
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. cell — a phone
  7. capital — money
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. bank — for money
  10. cap — a hat
  11. cell — in biology
  12. cap — a lid
  13. bat — the animal
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. cap — of ice
  16. capital — a city
  17. bank — for money
  18. wax — to grow

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