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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 120 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: mine · rest · capital · present · board · cell

  1. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  3. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  4. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  7. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  11. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  16. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  17. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. cell — in biology
  3. rest — a break
  4. rest — what's left
  5. mine — for digging
  6. board — a flat piece
  7. board — a committee
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. capital — a city
  10. present — a gift
  11. rest — what's left
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. cell — a phone
  15. present — there
  16. present — the time now
  17. board — to get on
  18. capital — a big letter

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