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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. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  2. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  5. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  8. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  9. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  10. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  11. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  12. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  17. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  18. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  19. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  20. What do you think of the new ________________?
  21. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to snap out of it
  2. cap — a lid
  3. swing — to play on
  4. pass — to succeed
  5. cap — a hat
  6. cold — not warm
  7. pass — a permit
  8. swing — in golf
  9. snap — to speak sharply
  10. cabinet — a cupboard
  11. swing — music
  12. pass — to spend time
  13. cold — an illness
  14. cap — of ice
  15. capital — a city
  16. snap — to click
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. lie — to recline
  19. cabinet — ministers
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. capital — money
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. capital — a big letter

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