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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: bat · land · stock · pass · mate · arm · capital · swing

  1. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  5. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. Have you found your soul ________________?
  9. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  12. David sat on the ________________.
  13. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  14. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  15. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  19. My father caught me by the ________________.
  20. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. The ________________ market has crashed.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. pass — to succeed
  3. land — a country
  4. stock — a soup base
  5. arm — a part of something
  6. land — ground
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. mate — a partner
  9. mate — a friend
  10. capital — a city
  11. pass — a permit
  12. swing — to play on
  13. swing — in golf
  14. pass — to spend time
  15. stock — goods
  16. land — to come down
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. swing — music
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. mate — to breed
  21. bat — the animal
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. capital — money
  24. stock — shares

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