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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 116 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 · bear · march · hand · capital · rest

  1. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  2. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  17. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. bear — the animal
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. capital — money
  5. cell — in biology
  6. capital — a city
  7. rest — what's left
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. hand — in cards
  10. bear — the animal
  11. hand — help
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. cell — a phone
  14. march — the month
  15. march — music
  16. rest — a break
  17. bear — to put up with
  18. march — the month

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