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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 120 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: season · mark · pass · snap · chest · capital · spring · cue

  1. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  5. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  8. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  11. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  14. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  17. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  18. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  19. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  20. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. spring — a coil
  4. pass — to succeed
  5. mark — a trace
  6. spring — the season
  7. pass — a permit
  8. cue — for pool
  9. chest — a box
  10. season — in sport
  11. snap — to click
  12. chest — of your body
  13. cue — a hint
  14. pass — to spend time
  15. capital — a city
  16. mark — a grade
  17. snap — to snap out of it
  18. cue — a signal
  19. season — of the year
  20. mark — to pay attention
  21. chest — of your body
  22. snap — to speak sharply
  23. capital — money
  24. spring — of water

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