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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 · pass · saw · ball · capital · face · date · pit

  1. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  5. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  6. She's very handy with a ________________.
  7. Have you settled on a ________________?
  8. The King held a masked ________________.
  9. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  10. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  11. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  12. He works in a ________________ mill.
  13. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  16. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  17. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  18. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. pit — a hole
  3. cold — not warm
  4. ball — a great time
  5. pit — a fruit stone
  6. saw — the tool
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. ball — a dance
  9. pass — to succeed
  10. pass — to spend time
  11. saw — past of 'see'
  12. saw — the tool
  13. date — the fruit
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. face — part of the head
  16. ball — a round shape
  17. pass — a permit
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. cold — an illness
  20. face — to confront
  21. capital — a city
  22. face — to point toward
  23. capital — money
  24. pit — in a race

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