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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 120 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: bat · wake · object · cell · content · bound · club · capital

  1. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  2. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  13. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  22. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  23. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  24. That was ________________ to happen.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for golf
  2. wake — before a funeral
  3. cell — a phone
  4. wake — a trail
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. wake — to stop sleeping
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. capital — a city
  9. content — happy
  10. cell — in biology
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. object — a thing
  13. club — for dancing
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. object — an aim
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. capital — money
  18. bat — the animal
  19. bound — tied together
  20. content — the amount
  21. club — a group
  22. bound — obliged
  23. object — to protest
  24. bound — certain

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