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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. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  3. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  8. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  9. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  10. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  11. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  12. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  15. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  21. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  22. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. fine — high quality
  3. pass — to spend time
  4. cold — an illness
  5. track — a song
  6. capital — money
  7. jam — in traffic
  8. jam — to spread on bread
  9. patient — calm and waiting
  10. pass — a permit
  11. jam — a tight spot
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. march — the month
  14. fine — a penalty
  15. pass — to succeed
  16. cold — not warm
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. fine — all right
  19. march — music
  20. track — a path
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. track — to keep track
  23. march — the month
  24. cold — the Cold War

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