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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. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  3. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  6. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  7. Where did you ________________ them?
  8. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  23. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. mug — a face
  3. track — a song
  4. file — a line of people
  5. track — a path
  6. track — to keep track
  7. mug — to rob
  8. pass — to spend time
  9. last — to go on
  10. pass — to succeed
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. pass — a permit
  13. shower — rain
  14. bass — low music
  15. file — a document
  16. file — a tool
  17. capital — money
  18. shower — to wash
  19. capital — a city
  20. mug — a cup
  21. last — final
  22. bass — the fish
  23. bass — the instrument
  24. last — finally

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