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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. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  2. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  5. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  6. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  7. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  13. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  14. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  15. The ________________ took off on time.
  16. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  19. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  22. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  23. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  24. You can't go backstage without a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — to succeed
  2. pass — to spend time
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. cap — of ice
  5. fine — a penalty
  6. mark — to pay attention
  7. mark — a trace
  8. band — a music group
  9. degree — temperature
  10. bowl — a dish
  11. degree — from a university
  12. bowl — to roll
  13. bowl — a football final
  14. plane — a tool
  15. plane — an aircraft
  16. plane — in geometry
  17. band — a ring
  18. mark — a grade
  19. cap — a hat
  20. degree — an amount
  21. cap — a lid
  22. fine — all right
  23. fine — high quality
  24. pass — a permit

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