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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: deal · bulb · roll · cell · wax · mine · date · capital

  1. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  6. The light ________________ burned out.
  7. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  12. I've got to change the light ________________.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  15. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  16. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  17. We're on a ________________ here.
  18. Have you settled on a ________________?
  19. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  20. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. roll — a cake
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. bulb — for light
  7. deal — an agreement
  8. mine — for digging
  9. deal — to handle
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. date — the fruit
  12. bulb — for light
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. bulb — of a plant
  15. wax — to grow
  16. roll — a list
  17. roll — on a roll
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. wax — in the ear
  20. deal — a big deal
  21. capital — money
  22. capital — a city
  23. cell — a phone
  24. cell — in biology

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