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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: pass · wind · bat · track · capital · toast · roll · bass

  1. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  5. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  8. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  9. We're on a ________________ here.
  10. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  11. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  12. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  13. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  19. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  20. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — to succeed
  2. bat — the animal
  3. capital — money
  4. toast — bread
  5. bass — the fish
  6. capital — a city
  7. bass — the instrument
  8. bass — low music
  9. roll — on a roll
  10. roll — a list
  11. pass — to spend time
  12. pass — a permit
  13. toast — the most admired
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. track — a song
  16. wind — moving air
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. toast — a drink to someone
  19. track — a path
  20. track — to keep track
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. roll — a cake
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. wind — moving air

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