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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: cap · spell · mate · content · pass · hand · swing · tear

  1. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  2. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. Have you found your soul ________________?
  9. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  10. How do you ________________ your surname?
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  14. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  15. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  16. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  17. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  22. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  23. David sat on the ________________.
  24. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — to breed
  2. tear — to rip
  3. hand — in cards
  4. tear — from crying
  5. cap — of ice
  6. content — happy
  7. hand — help
  8. mate — a partner
  9. swing — music
  10. spell — letters
  11. tear — from crying
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. pass — a permit
  14. cap — a lid
  15. pass — to succeed
  16. pass — to spend time
  17. mate — a friend
  18. spell — a short time
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. content — the amount
  21. cap — a hat
  22. swing — in golf
  23. swing — to play on
  24. spell — magic

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