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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: bear · wound · content · board · pass · cold · capital · lash

  1. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  10. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  11. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  12. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  15. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  21. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  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. pass — to spend time
  2. capital — money
  3. cold — an illness
  4. bear — the animal
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. content — happy
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. capital — a city
  9. lash — to lash out
  10. pass — to succeed
  11. bear — the animal
  12. lash — a whip stroke
  13. content — the amount
  14. bear — to put up with
  15. board — a committee
  16. wound — an injury
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. wound — an injury
  20. board — to get on
  21. board — a flat piece
  22. cold — not warm
  23. lash — an eyelash
  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