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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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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: cell · bay · mug · fork · date · tube · capital · clip

  1. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  2. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  3. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  4. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  7. My mare is ________________ in color.
  8. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  9. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  10. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. I'll be taking the ________________.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. Have you settled on a ________________?
  17. Where did you ________________ them?
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.

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

Answer key

  1. date — the fruit
  2. bay — to keep at bay
  3. mug — a cup
  4. fork — a garden tool
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. bay — a horse colour
  8. fork — to eat with
  9. fork — in a road
  10. tube — a container
  11. capital — money
  12. tube — in a tire
  13. clip — a video
  14. tube — the underground
  15. clip — for paper
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. mug — to rob
  18. capital — a city
  19. cell — a phone
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. cell — in biology
  22. bay — a part of the sea
  23. clip — to cut
  24. mug — a face

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