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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. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  2. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  3. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  4. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  5. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  6. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  7. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  8. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  12. The tickets are free of ________________.
  13. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  14. Did you ________________ the button?
  15. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  16. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  17. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  18. Have you found your soul ________________?
  19. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  20. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — a permit
  2. charge — in control
  3. kick — with a leg
  4. craft — a handicraft
  5. press — a publisher
  6. mate — a friend
  7. charge — electricity
  8. kick — in football
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. capital — money
  11. kick — a thrill
  12. charge — a price
  13. craft — boats
  14. press — to push
  15. craft — a skill
  16. press — newspapers
  17. pass — to succeed
  18. mate — a partner
  19. pass — to spend time
  20. mate — to breed
  21. capital — a city
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. bat — the animal

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