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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 120 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. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  4. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  5. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  8. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  9. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  14. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  15. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  18. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  19. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  20. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  23. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  24. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — a permit
  2. capital — a city
  3. lash — a whip stroke
  4. pass — to succeed
  5. club — for golf
  6. file — a tool
  7. club — for dancing
  8. lash — an eyelash
  9. fine — all right
  10. capital — money
  11. wave — of the sea
  12. file — a line of people
  13. fine — high quality
  14. bore — to drill
  15. wave — with your hand
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. fine — a penalty
  18. club — a group
  19. lash — to lash out
  20. wave — a sudden rise
  21. file — a document
  22. pass — to spend time
  23. bore — to tire
  24. bore — gave birth

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