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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: row · bulb · wind · wax · mug · capital · cell · rush

  1. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. The light ________________ burned out.
  3. I've got to change the light ________________.
  4. Where did you ________________ them?
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. That must've been a ________________.
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  17. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  18. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  19. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. He refilled his coffee ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. bulb — for light
  3. bulb — for light
  4. mug — to rob
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. mug — a face
  7. row — a line
  8. rush — a thrill
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. wax — for sculpting
  13. wind — moving air
  14. cell — in biology
  15. wind — moving air
  16. bulb — of a plant
  17. wax — to grow
  18. rush — to hurry
  19. rush — hurry
  20. row — to paddle
  21. capital — a city
  22. row — a quarrel
  23. capital — money
  24. mug — a cup

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