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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. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  3. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  10. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  11. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. This piece is in a major ________________.
  16. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  17. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  18. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — to succeed
  2. key — for a lock
  3. cap — a hat
  4. court — of law
  5. fall — the season
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. pitch — a sales talk
  8. capital — a city
  9. fall — to drop
  10. pass — to spend time
  11. cap — a lid
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. pitch — a sports field
  14. bat — the animal
  15. key — in music
  16. pass — a permit
  17. key — the most important part
  18. fall — to drop
  19. capital — money
  20. cap — of ice
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. court — of a king
  23. court — for sport
  24. pitch — completely

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