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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: date · capital · race · wind · club · bound · snap · pass

  1. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  3. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  4. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  5. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  6. That was ________________ to happen.
  7. Have you settled on a ________________?
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  11. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  12. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  13. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  14. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  17. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. You can't go backstage without a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. snap — to speak sharply
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. club — a group
  5. bound — obliged
  6. bound — certain
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. capital — a city
  9. race — humankind
  10. snap — to snap out of it
  11. pass — to succeed
  12. pass — to spend time
  13. snap — to click
  14. date — the fruit
  15. wind — moving air
  16. club — for golf
  17. club — for dancing
  18. wind — moving air
  19. bound — tied together
  20. capital — money
  21. race — a contest
  22. race — the arms race
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. pass — a permit

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