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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: capital · mine · suit · wax · lie · fan · cell · swing

  1. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  2. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  3. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  4. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  5. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  17. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  18. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  19. David sat on the ________________.
  20. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. When will it ________________ you to start?

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

Answer key

  1. fan — to cool the air
  2. lie — an untruth
  3. suit — clothes
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. lie — to recline
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. swing — in golf
  8. mine — for digging
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. wax — to grow
  11. capital — money
  12. cell — a phone
  13. wax — for sculpting
  14. capital — a city
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. swing — music
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. swing — to play on
  20. suit — in cards
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. cell — in biology
  24. suit — to fit

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