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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: patient · capital · rule · bulb · wax · clip · club · row

  1. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  2. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  3. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  4. I've got to change the light ________________.
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  9. The light ________________ burned out.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  12. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  13. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  23. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  24. I had a ________________ with my boss today.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for golf
  2. rule — to rule out
  3. rule — government
  4. bulb — for light
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. wax — to grow
  7. clip — for paper
  8. bulb — of a plant
  9. bulb — for light
  10. clip — a video
  11. patient — calm and waiting
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. club — for dancing
  14. row — a line
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. clip — to cut
  18. row — to paddle
  19. wax — in the ear
  20. capital — a city
  21. capital — money
  22. rule — a law
  23. club — a group
  24. row — a quarrel

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