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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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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: cell · capital · race · object · bulb · band · land · snap

  1. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  2. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  3. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  7. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  11. I've got to change the light ________________.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. The light ________________ burned out.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  24. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. cell — in biology
  3. object — a thing
  4. band — a ring
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. bulb — of a plant
  7. object — to protest
  8. cell — a phone
  9. land — ground
  10. snap — to snap out of it
  11. bulb — for light
  12. land — to come down
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. race — humankind
  15. bulb — for light
  16. race — a contest
  17. capital — money
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. capital — a city
  20. land — a country
  21. object — an aim
  22. race — the arms race
  23. snap — to click
  24. snap — to speak sharply

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