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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. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  6. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  13. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  14. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  15. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  16. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  17. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  18. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  19. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  20. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  21. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  22. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  23. We're on a ________________ here.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — to succeed
  2. capital — a city
  3. toast — a drink to someone
  4. capital — money
  5. drill — a practice
  6. trunk — of an elephant
  7. game — wild animals
  8. roll — a list
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. roll — a cake
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. trunk — of a tree
  13. pass — a permit
  14. trunk — of a car
  15. branch — a division
  16. branch — of a bank
  17. branch — of a tree
  18. drill — army training
  19. drill — the tool
  20. toast — the most admired
  21. toast — bread
  22. pass — to spend time
  23. roll — on a roll
  24. game — a match

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