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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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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: ground · cell · present · ball · pass · capital · mine · rest

  1. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  2. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  15. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  16. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  17. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  20. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  21. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. The King held a masked ________________.
  24. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — a permit
  2. rest — a break
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. rest — what's left
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. pass — to spend time
  8. ground — a position
  9. ball — a round shape
  10. cell — in biology
  11. capital — money
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. capital — a city
  14. pass — to succeed
  15. present — the time now
  16. rest — what's left
  17. present — there
  18. mine — for digging
  19. present — a gift
  20. ground — crushed
  21. cell — a phone
  22. ground — the earth
  23. ball — a dance
  24. ball — a great time

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