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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. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  2. My father caught me by the ________________.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  6. She's very handy with a ________________.
  7. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  8. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  9. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  10. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  11. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  17. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  18. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  19. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  20. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  21. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  22. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  23. He is an ace ________________.
  24. He works in a ________________ mill.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — to succeed
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. saw — the tool
  7. kick — with a leg
  8. pass — a permit
  9. kick — a thrill
  10. prune — to trim
  11. scale — for weighing
  12. capital — money
  13. capital — a city
  14. arm — a part of something
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. saw — past of 'see'
  17. kick — in football
  18. prune — to trim
  19. scale — in music
  20. scale — size or range
  21. pass — to spend time
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. pitcher — in baseball
  24. saw — the tool

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