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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. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  3. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  6. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  7. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  11. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  12. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  19. The King held a masked ________________.
  20. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  21. This piece is in a major ________________.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  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. pit — in a race
  3. ball — a round shape
  4. wound — an injury
  5. pit — a fruit stone
  6. pass — to spend time
  7. key — for a lock
  8. capital — a city
  9. wound — an injury
  10. bore — to drill
  11. bore — gave birth
  12. key — the most important part
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. cold — an illness
  15. pit — a hole
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. cold — not warm
  18. bore — to tire
  19. ball — a dance
  20. ball — a great time
  21. key — in music
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. capital — money
  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