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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: racket · pass · tear · capital · cap · mate

  1. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  2. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  3. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  4. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  7. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  8. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  11. Have you found your soul ________________?
  12. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  15. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — to rip
  2. pass — to succeed
  3. pass — a permit
  4. mate — a friend
  5. tear — from crying
  6. mate — to breed
  7. cap — a hat
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. tear — from crying
  10. cap — a lid
  11. mate — a partner
  12. cap — of ice
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. racket — a loud noise
  15. pass — to spend time
  16. capital — money
  17. capital — a city
  18. racket — for tennis

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