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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. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  5. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  6. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  7. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  8. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  9. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  10. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  14. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. Did you ________________ the meat?
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — to succeed
  2. wound — past of 'wind'
  3. capital — a city
  4. squash — the sport
  5. season — of the year
  6. squash — the vegetable
  7. squash — to crush
  8. pass — to spend time
  9. stick — to attach or keep to
  10. pass — a permit
  11. spring — the season
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. bear — the animal
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. spring — a coil
  16. wound — an injury
  17. season — to add flavour
  18. capital — money
  19. bear — to put up with
  20. season — in sport
  21. bear — the animal
  22. spring — of water
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. wound — an injury

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