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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.

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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: field · sharp · bat · pass · band · board · mate · capital

  1. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  2. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  5. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  9. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  10. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  11. Have you found your soul ________________?
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  24. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.

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

Answer key

  1. board — to get on
  2. mate — a friend
  3. field — farmland
  4. mate — to breed
  5. pass — a permit
  6. bat — the animal
  7. field — for sport
  8. board — a flat piece
  9. pass — to spend time
  10. sharp — with an edge
  11. mate — a partner
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. field — a subject
  14. board — a committee
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. capital — a city
  18. capital — money
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. band — a ring
  22. band — a music group
  23. sharp — clever
  24. pass — to succeed

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