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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 beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  3. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. He is an ace ________________.
  16. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  17. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  18. Have you found your soul ________________?
  19. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  23. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  24. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. pass — to spend time
  3. pound — for dogs
  4. capital — money
  5. cell — a phone
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. dip — a sauce
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. pass — to succeed
  10. cell — in biology
  11. pass — a permit
  12. field — a subject
  13. pound — to hit hard
  14. capital — a city
  15. pitcher — in baseball
  16. mate — to breed
  17. dip — to sink
  18. mate — a partner
  19. pound — a weight
  20. field — for sport
  21. field — farmland
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. dip — to dunk
  24. mate — a friend

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