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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. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  2. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  12. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  17. Did you ________________ the meat?
  18. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  19. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. I don't want to ________________ the boat.

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

Answer key

  1. can — a tin
  2. pass — a permit
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. band — a music group
  5. capital — a city
  6. bat — the animal
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. last — to go on
  9. pass — to spend time
  10. band — a ring
  11. season — of the year
  12. rock — a stone
  13. last — final
  14. can — a tin
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. rock — music
  17. season — to add flavour
  18. season — in sport
  19. pass — to succeed
  20. capital — money
  21. last — finally
  22. can — to be able to
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. rock — to move gently

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