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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: fan · bear · plane · cell · capital · club · fork · date

  1. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  2. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. The ________________ took off on time.
  5. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  6. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  7. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  8. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  9. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  13. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  19. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  20. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  21. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  22. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  23. Have you settled on a ________________?
  24. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.

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

Answer key

  1. club — a group
  2. plane — a tool
  3. capital — a city
  4. plane — an aircraft
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. fork — to eat with
  7. bear — to put up with
  8. club — for dancing
  9. date — the fruit
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. capital — money
  12. bear — the animal
  13. club — for golf
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. bear — the animal
  16. cell — a phone
  17. cell — in biology
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. fan — to cool the air
  20. fork — in a road
  21. plane — in geometry
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. fork — a garden tool

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