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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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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: cold · roll · stem · snap · fan · pass · capital · bass

  1. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  2. We're on a ________________ here.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  9. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  10. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  11. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  16. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  17. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  18. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  19. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  20. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  21. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  22. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  23. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  24. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — a cake
  2. roll — on a roll
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. capital — money
  6. pass — to spend time
  7. cold — an illness
  8. stem — a stem cell
  9. snap — to snap out of it
  10. snap — to click
  11. pass — to succeed
  12. capital — a city
  13. bass — the fish
  14. cold — not warm
  15. bass — low music
  16. bass — the instrument
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. fan — to cool the air
  20. roll — a list
  21. stem — of a plant
  22. stem — to come from
  23. pass — a permit
  24. snap — to speak sharply

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