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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: shower · clip · pass · drill · wave · game · stand · capital

  1. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  10. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  13. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  21. I can't ________________ this cold.
  22. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  23. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  24. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — to succeed
  2. shower — to wash
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. clip — a video
  5. drill — army training
  6. game — wild animals
  7. game — a match
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. pass — to spend time
  10. wave — a sudden rise
  11. clip — to cut
  12. pass — a permit
  13. stand — on your feet
  14. capital — money
  15. wave — of the sea
  16. capital — a city
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. shower — rain
  19. clip — for paper
  20. wave — with your hand
  21. stand — to bear
  22. drill — a practice
  23. drill — the tool
  24. stand — for spectators

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