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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 116 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
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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: stock · can · shower · field · capital · pass · bass · plane

  1. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  2. The ________________ took off on time.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  10. The ________________ market has crashed.
  11. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  12. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  13. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  14. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  18. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  19. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  20. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  21. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  22. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — to succeed
  2. plane — an aircraft
  3. field — farmland
  4. field — for sport
  5. capital — money
  6. capital — a city
  7. field — a subject
  8. shower — to wash
  9. bass — low music
  10. stock — shares
  11. bass — the instrument
  12. can — a tin
  13. stock — a soup base
  14. bass — the fish
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. can — to be able to
  18. stock — goods
  19. pass — to spend time
  20. pass — a permit
  21. can — a tin
  22. plane — in geometry
  23. shower — rain
  24. plane — a tool

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