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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 120 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. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  2. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  5. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  6. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. This piece is in a major ________________.
  9. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  10. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  11. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  18. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. Don't do anything ________________.
  21. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  24. Did you ________________ the meat?

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

Answer key

  1. can — a tin
  2. can — to be able to
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. rash — a series
  5. pass — to succeed
  6. season — of the year
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. key — in music
  9. key — the most important part
  10. rash — on the skin
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. pass — a permit
  14. capital — money
  15. can — a tin
  16. game — wild animals
  17. pass — to spend time
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. game — a match
  20. rash — hasty
  21. season — in sport
  22. capital — a city
  23. key — for a lock
  24. season — to add flavour

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