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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: staff · fine · capital · wind · club · net · bulb · cell

  1. The light ________________ burned out.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  9. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  10. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. I've got to change the light ________________.
  19. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  20. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  21. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  22. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  23. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  24. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. capital — a city
  3. staff — employees
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. staff — a stick
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. wind — moving air
  8. club — a group
  9. fine — a penalty
  10. staff — employees
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. cell — a phone
  13. cell — in biology
  14. bulb — of a plant
  15. net — for catching
  16. capital — money
  17. wind — moving air
  18. bulb — for light
  19. club — for dancing
  20. club — for golf
  21. fine — all right
  22. net — in sport
  23. net — after costs
  24. fine — high quality

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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