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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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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: track · kid · pass · rest · capital · fall · stem · chair

  1. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  2. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  4. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  9. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  10. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  11. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  12. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  15. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  16. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  19. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  20. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  21. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — the season
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. track — to keep track
  4. pass — to spend time
  5. capital — money
  6. track — a song
  7. kid — to tease
  8. pass — to succeed
  9. rest — a break
  10. chair — a professorship
  11. stem — to come from
  12. chair — a leader
  13. capital — a city
  14. rest — what's left
  15. fall — to drop
  16. stem — of a plant
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. stem — a stem cell
  19. rest — what's left
  20. pass — a permit
  21. fall — to drop
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. kid — child
  24. track — a path

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