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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: pass · kid · net · capital · straw · chest · nail · present

  1. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  3. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  4. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  8. The ________________ went through the wall.
  9. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. pass — to spend time
  3. present — a gift
  4. present — there
  5. net — after costs
  6. kid — to tease
  7. present — the time now
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. net — in sport
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. chest — of your body
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. chest — a box
  14. pass — a permit
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. capital — money
  17. pass — to succeed
  18. chest — of your body
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. kid — child
  23. net — for catching
  24. nail — on a finger

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