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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 116 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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  2. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. It's one o'clock ________________.
  15. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  16. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a lid
  2. sharp — clever
  3. last — finally
  4. pass — to spend time
  5. last — to go on
  6. cap — of ice
  7. last — final
  8. bat — the animal
  9. capital — money
  10. capital — a city
  11. pass — a permit
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. sharp — exactly
  15. sharp — with an edge
  16. pass — to succeed
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. cap — a hat

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