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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: spell · land · cell · tube · capital · mate · toast · wax

  1. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  6. Have you found your soul ________________?
  7. I'll be taking the ________________.
  8. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  9. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  12. How do you ________________ your surname?
  13. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  14. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  17. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  19. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  20. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  24. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. land — to come down
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. tube — a container
  6. mate — a partner
  7. tube — the underground
  8. toast — bread
  9. tube — in a tire
  10. capital — a city
  11. wax — to grow
  12. spell — letters
  13. wax — for sculpting
  14. toast — the most admired
  15. capital — money
  16. wax — in the ear
  17. toast — a drink to someone
  18. spell — magic
  19. mate — to breed
  20. cell — a phone
  21. land — a country
  22. cell — in biology
  23. spell — a short time
  24. mate — a friend

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