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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 · shower · season · bat · capital · perch · track · land

  1. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  11. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  12. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  13. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  17. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  20. Did you ________________ the meat?
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  23. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. pass — to succeed
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. capital — money
  5. bat — the animal
  6. land — to come down
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. pass — to spend time
  9. land — a country
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. track — a path
  12. track — a song
  13. season — of the year
  14. capital — a city
  15. land — ground
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. season — in sport
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. track — to keep track
  20. season — to add flavour
  21. shower — to wash
  22. perch — the fish
  23. pass — a permit
  24. shower — rain

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