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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: chest · wound · kid · capital · date · pass · fan · bowl

  1. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  3. Have you settled on a ________________?
  4. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  17. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  18. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  22. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. You can't go backstage without a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. wound — past of 'wind'
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. date — the fruit
  5. kid — to tease
  6. wound — an injury
  7. bowl — to roll
  8. capital — a city
  9. fan — to cool the air
  10. chest — of your body
  11. kid — child
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. chest — a box
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. pass — to spend time
  17. bowl — a football final
  18. pass — to succeed
  19. chest — of your body
  20. wound — an injury
  21. bowl — a dish
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. pass — a permit

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