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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 · pop · wake · bear · cell · chest

  1. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  4. You don't need to ________________ round.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  15. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. We're almost out of ________________.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — a trail
  2. cell — a phone
  3. bear — to put up with
  4. pop — to visit
  5. capital — money
  6. pop — music
  7. chest — of your body
  8. wake — to stop sleeping
  9. cell — in biology
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. wake — before a funeral
  13. chest — a box
  14. bear — the animal
  15. bear — the animal
  16. chest — of your body
  17. pop — soda
  18. capital — a city

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