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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. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  5. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  6. Have you found your soul ________________?
  7. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  8. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  14. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  17. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  18. When was this ________________ built?
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  21. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. You can't go backstage without a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — to succeed
  2. capital — money
  3. band — a music group
  4. deal — an agreement
  5. face — part of the head
  6. mate — a partner
  7. temple — a place of worship
  8. face — to confront
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. capital — a city
  11. mate — a friend
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. deal — a big deal
  14. deal — to handle
  15. band — a ring
  16. temple — side of the head
  17. face — to point toward
  18. temple — a place of worship
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. pass — to spend time
  21. mate — to breed
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. mine — for digging
  24. pass — a permit

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