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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: wax · capital · stand · cell · ruler · key

  1. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  8. I can't ________________ this cold.
  9. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  10. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  11. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  12. This piece is in a major ________________.
  13. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  14. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  15. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  18. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. cell — a phone
  3. stand — for spectators
  4. capital — money
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. wax — for sculpting
  8. stand — to bear
  9. key — for a lock
  10. wax — to grow
  11. stand — on your feet
  12. key — in music
  13. ruler — a monarch
  14. key — the most important part
  15. ruler — for measuring
  16. cell — in biology
  17. wax — in the ear
  18. ruler — for measuring

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