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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: pass · capital · temple · pitch · clip · staff · mine · bat

  1. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  2. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  3. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. When was this ________________ built?
  14. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  15. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  16. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  17. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  18. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  21. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. staff — a stick
  3. staff — employees
  4. capital — money
  5. clip — a video
  6. mine — for digging
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. bat — the animal
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. pass — to spend time
  12. clip — for paper
  13. temple — a place of worship
  14. pitch — completely
  15. pass — to succeed
  16. pitch — a sports field
  17. temple — a place of worship
  18. pass — a permit
  19. capital — a city
  20. temple — side of the head
  21. pitch — a sales talk
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. clip — to cut

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