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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: pop · pass · capital · wound · wave · board · straw · bat

  1. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  3. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  4. We're almost out of ________________.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  7. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  8. You don't need to ________________ round.
  9. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  16. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. wound — past of 'wind'
  3. pass — a permit
  4. pop — soda
  5. bat — the animal
  6. pass — to succeed
  7. pop — music
  8. pop — to visit
  9. board — a committee
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. wave — a sudden rise
  12. capital — a city
  13. capital — money
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. wave — of the sea
  16. board — a flat piece
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. pass — to spend time
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. wave — with your hand
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. wound — an injury
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. board — to get on

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