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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: hand · capital · bulb · jam · band · date · ground · cell

  1. Have you settled on a ________________?
  2. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  3. I've got to change the light ________________.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  7. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  8. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. There's no middle ________________.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  18. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  21. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. The light ________________ burned out.

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. date — the fruit
  3. bulb — for light
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. capital — a city
  6. ground — the earth
  7. jam — to spread on bread
  8. jam — a tight spot
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. bulb — of a plant
  11. band — a music group
  12. hand — help
  13. ground — a position
  14. band — a ring
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. cell — in biology
  17. ground — crushed
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. hand — in cards
  20. cell — a phone
  21. jam — in traffic
  22. capital — money
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. bulb — for light

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