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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: dip · prune · toast · capital · pass · roll · leaves · chest

  1. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  2. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. We're on a ________________ here.
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  9. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  10. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  15. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  18. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  19. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  20. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  24. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — to succeed
  2. roll — a cake
  3. chest — of your body
  4. dip — to sink
  5. chest — of your body
  6. roll — on a roll
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. dip — to dunk
  9. toast — the most admired
  10. leaves — to go away
  11. capital — a city
  12. pass — a permit
  13. chest — a box
  14. leaves — lets stay
  15. roll — a list
  16. capital — money
  17. toast — a drink to someone
  18. leaves — of a tree
  19. dip — a sauce
  20. prune — to trim
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. prune — to trim
  23. toast — bread
  24. pass — to spend time

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