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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: toast · mouse · band · cell · capital · mate

  1. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  2. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  9. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. Have you found your soul ________________?
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  17. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  18. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a friend
  2. toast — a drink to someone
  3. cell — a phone
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. capital — money
  6. capital — a city
  7. band — a ring
  8. mate — to breed
  9. mouse — for a computer
  10. band — a music group
  11. toast — bread
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. mate — a partner
  15. cell — in biology
  16. mouse — the animal
  17. toast — the most admired
  18. mouse — the animal

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