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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: capital · perch · cell · shower · bulb · date · stand · mouse

  1. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  3. The light ________________ burned out.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  9. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  12. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  13. Have you settled on a ________________?
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. I've got to change the light ________________.
  18. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  19. I can't ________________ this cold.
  20. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  21. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  22. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  23. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. stand — on your feet
  3. bulb — for light
  4. shower — rain
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. capital — a city
  7. cell — a phone
  8. cell — in biology
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. shower — to wash
  11. perch — the fish
  12. mouse — for a computer
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. bulb — for light
  18. date — the fruit
  19. stand — to bear
  20. stand — for spectators
  21. mouse — the animal
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. bulb — of a plant
  24. capital — a big letter

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