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

  1. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  2. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  5. We're on a ________________ here.
  6. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. You don't need to ________________ round.
  13. The ________________ took off on time.
  14. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  15. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. We're almost out of ________________.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. roll — a list
  2. pass — to spend time
  3. kid — to tease
  4. pass — to succeed
  5. roll — on a roll
  6. roll — a cake
  7. capital — a city
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. capital — money
  10. pop — music
  11. march — the month
  12. pop — to visit
  13. plane — an aircraft
  14. pass — a permit
  15. plane — a tool
  16. march — music
  17. march — the month
  18. cell — in biology
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. pop — soda
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. plane — in geometry
  23. kid — child
  24. cell — a phone

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