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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: pop · cell · capital · bulb · jam · stock · mine · kid

  1. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. The ________________ market has crashed.
  6. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. The light ________________ burned out.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  14. I've got to change the light ________________.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. You don't need to ________________ round.
  17. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  24. We're almost out of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. stock — a soup base
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. stock — shares
  6. jam — in traffic
  7. capital — a city
  8. pop — music
  9. mine — for digging
  10. bulb — for light
  11. kid — to tease
  12. capital — money
  13. bulb — of a plant
  14. bulb — for light
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. pop — to visit
  17. stock — goods
  18. cell — in biology
  19. jam — a tight spot
  20. kid — child
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. cell — a phone
  23. jam — to spread on bread
  24. pop — soda

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