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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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Word bank
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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: court · staff · bat · capital · rash · cold · mouse · pass

  1. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  5. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  6. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  7. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  13. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  14. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. Don't do anything ________________.
  24. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. court — of law
  3. cold — an illness
  4. pass — to succeed
  5. rash — a series
  6. pass — to spend time
  7. mouse — for a computer
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. staff — a stick
  10. cold — not warm
  11. court — for sport
  12. rash — on the skin
  13. staff — employees
  14. mouse — the animal
  15. capital — a city
  16. capital — money
  17. court — of a king
  18. staff — employees
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. pass — a permit
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. rash — hasty
  24. mouse — the animal

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