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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: rush · kid · capital · pass · mate · court · band · land

  1. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  3. Have you found your soul ________________?
  4. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  5. That must've been a ________________.
  6. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  20. The ball is in your ________________.
  21. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  22. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. rush — to hurry
  3. mate — a partner
  4. pass — to succeed
  5. rush — a thrill
  6. mate — to breed
  7. land — ground
  8. pass — a permit
  9. kid — to tease
  10. band — a music group
  11. capital — money
  12. land — to come down
  13. land — a country
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. court — of law
  17. capital — a city
  18. kid — child
  19. mate — a friend
  20. court — for sport
  21. pass — to spend time
  22. rush — hurry
  23. court — of a king
  24. band — a ring

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