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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 polar ice ________________ is melting.
  2. The King held a masked ________________.
  3. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  4. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  5. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  10. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  11. Have you found your soul ________________?
  12. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  17. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  18. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  21. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  22. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  23. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — of ice
  2. ball — a dance
  3. ball — a great time
  4. mate — a friend
  5. drill — the tool
  6. shower — to wash
  7. chip — for betting
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. drill — army training
  10. cap — a hat
  11. mate — a partner
  12. drill — a practice
  13. capital — a city
  14. cap — a lid
  15. capital — money
  16. chip — in a computer
  17. pass — a permit
  18. pass — to spend time
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. mate — to breed
  21. pass — to succeed
  22. chip — to eat
  23. ball — a round shape
  24. shower — rain

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