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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. There's no middle ________________.
  2. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  8. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  9. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  10. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  16. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  17. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  18. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  19. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  22. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  23. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  24. Where did you ________________ them?

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. pass — to succeed
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. last — final
  5. last — to go on
  6. ground — crushed
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. mug — a face
  9. lash — to lash out
  10. pass — to spend time
  11. ground — the earth
  12. pass — a permit
  13. capital — money
  14. capital — a city
  15. cap — a hat
  16. cap — a lid
  17. lash — an eyelash
  18. mug — a cup
  19. lash — a whip stroke
  20. last — finally
  21. cap — of ice
  22. patient — calm and waiting
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. mug — to rob

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