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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. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  3. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  4. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  10. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  14. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  15. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  16. We're on a ________________ here.
  17. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  20. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  21. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — to succeed
  2. cap — of ice
  3. lash — an eyelash
  4. roll — a cake
  5. file — a document
  6. pass — a permit
  7. hand — in cards
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. cap — a hat
  10. roll — a list
  11. file — a tool
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. lash — to lash out
  14. pit — a hole
  15. pass — to spend time
  16. roll — on a roll
  17. pit — a fruit stone
  18. hand — help
  19. lash — a whip stroke
  20. pit — in a race
  21. cap — a lid
  22. capital — a city
  23. file — a line of people
  24. capital — money

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