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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 · wound · capital · mark · straw · field · spell · staff

  1. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  2. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  6. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  11. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  16. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — to pay attention
  2. staff — employees
  3. wound — an injury
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. staff — employees
  6. mark — a grade
  7. spell — letters
  8. pass — to succeed
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. spell — magic
  11. spell — a short time
  12. capital — a city
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. field — farmland
  15. staff — a stick
  16. mark — a trace
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. wound — an injury
  19. pass — a permit
  20. capital — money
  21. field — for sport
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. pass — to spend time
  24. field — a subject

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