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

Word bank: capital · pass · date · fall · foot · lean · kid · ground

  1. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. Have you settled on a ________________?
  3. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  4. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. There's no middle ________________.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  9. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  10. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  11. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  19. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  20. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  23. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  24. He is as ________________ as a wolf.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. fall — the season
  4. fall — to drop
  5. capital — a city
  6. ground — a position
  7. capital — money
  8. ground — crushed
  9. lean — to bend
  10. pass — to succeed
  11. lean — to rest against
  12. ground — the earth
  13. date — the fruit
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. foot — part of the body
  17. fall — to drop
  18. pass — to spend time
  19. foot — a measure
  20. foot — the bottom
  21. kid — to tease
  22. pass — a permit
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. lean — thin

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