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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
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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: capital · mine · row · saw · track · cell · wax · lash

  1. She's very handy with a ________________.
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. He works in a ________________ mill.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  8. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  11. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  14. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  19. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  22. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. saw — the tool
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. track — to keep track
  8. saw — past of 'see'
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. wax — for sculpting
  11. lash — to lash out
  12. capital — a city
  13. lash — an eyelash
  14. lash — a whip stroke
  15. cell — a phone
  16. track — a path
  17. cell — in biology
  18. track — a song
  19. wax — in the ear
  20. row — to paddle
  21. wax — to grow
  22. row — a line
  23. mine — for digging
  24. capital — money

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