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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. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  3. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  4. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  11. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  12. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  13. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  22. That was ________________ to happen.
  23. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  24. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. bound — tied together
  3. pass — a permit
  4. pass — to spend time
  5. ground — a position
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. shower — rain
  8. capital — a city
  9. ground — crushed
  10. chair — a professorship
  11. dip — a sauce
  12. chair — to sit on
  13. pass — to succeed
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. bat — the animal
  16. shower — to wash
  17. chair — a leader
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. ground — the earth
  21. dip — to dunk
  22. bound — certain
  23. bound — obliged
  24. dip — to sink

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