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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. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  9. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  10. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  11. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  12. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  13. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  14. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  21. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  22. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  23. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  24. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — to succeed
  2. bowl — to roll
  3. ground — a position
  4. capital — a city
  5. snap — to click
  6. capital — money
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. track — to keep track
  9. bowl — a dish
  10. chair — to sit on
  11. track — a song
  12. wake — before a funeral
  13. pass — to spend time
  14. track — a path
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. bowl — a football final
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. ground — the earth
  20. pass — a permit
  21. wake — a trail
  22. chair — a leader
  23. ground — crushed
  24. wake — to stop sleeping

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