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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: band · capital · pass · face · pop · snap · last · kick

  1. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  4. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  5. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  8. You don't need to ________________ round.
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  13. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  14. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  15. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  22. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  23. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  24. We're almost out of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. snap — to click
  3. pass — a permit
  4. kick — in football
  5. face — part of the head
  6. capital — money
  7. kick — with a leg
  8. pop — to visit
  9. band — a music group
  10. last — to go on
  11. capital — a city
  12. pop — music
  13. kick — a thrill
  14. pass — to succeed
  15. pass — to spend time
  16. band — a ring
  17. face — to point toward
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. last — final
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. snap — to speak sharply
  22. face — to confront
  23. snap — to snap out of it
  24. pop — soda

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