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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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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: bore · swing · capital · pass · leaves · net · mine · last

  1. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  2. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  7. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  8. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  9. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  12. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  18. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. David sat on the ________________.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — gave birth
  2. pass — a permit
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. pass — to succeed
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. net — in sport
  7. leaves — of a tree
  8. net — after costs
  9. swing — music
  10. last — finally
  11. bore — to tire
  12. swing — in golf
  13. mine — for digging
  14. net — for catching
  15. leaves — lets stay
  16. capital — a city
  17. pass — to spend time
  18. leaves — to go away
  19. capital — money
  20. swing — to play on
  21. last — final
  22. last — to go on
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. bore — to drill

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