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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. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  3. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  8. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  9. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  12. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  13. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  14. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  15. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  18. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  19. Have you found your soul ________________?
  20. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  21. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  22. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  23. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  24. Did you ________________ the meat?

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

Answer key

  1. pass — to succeed
  2. mate — a friend
  3. ground — the earth
  4. ground — a position
  5. pass — a permit
  6. capital — a city
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. season — of the year
  9. season — in sport
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. toast — a drink to someone
  12. fan — to cool the air
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. pass — to spend time
  16. capital — money
  17. mate — to breed
  18. toast — bread
  19. mate — a partner
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. toast — the most admired
  22. racket — a loud noise
  23. ground — crushed
  24. season — to add flavour

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