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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 116 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. Have you found your soul ________________?
  2. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  5. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  6. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  7. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  12. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  17. What do you think of the new ________________?
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  21. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  22. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  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. mate — a partner
  2. cap — a hat
  3. capital — a city
  4. board — a committee
  5. pass — to succeed
  6. cap — of ice
  7. mate — to breed
  8. court — for sport
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. court — of a king
  11. pass — to spend time
  12. board — to get on
  13. land — to come down
  14. land — a country
  15. court — of law
  16. mate — a friend
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. capital — money
  19. land — ground
  20. cap — a lid
  21. board — a flat piece
  22. cabinet — a cupboard
  23. capital — a big letter
  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