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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. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  4. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  5. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  6. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  11. Where did you ________________ them?
  12. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  13. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  14. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  15. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  16. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  17. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  22. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  23. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  24. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — a stick
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. staff — employees
  4. scale — in music
  5. pit — a fruit stone
  6. mug — a face
  7. capital — a city
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. capital — money
  10. pass — to succeed
  11. mug — to rob
  12. pass — a permit
  13. staff — employees
  14. face — to confront
  15. face — to point toward
  16. face — part of the head
  17. mug — a cup
  18. shower — rain
  19. scale — size or range
  20. shower — to wash
  21. pit — a hole
  22. scale — for weighing
  23. pit — in a race
  24. pass — to spend time

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