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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: mouse · pass · swing · mine · scale · roll · capital · march

  1. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  2. David sat on the ________________.
  3. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  4. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  12. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  13. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  17. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. We're on a ________________ here.
  21. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  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. pass — to succeed
  2. swing — to play on
  3. mouse — for a computer
  4. roll — a cake
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. swing — in golf
  7. march — music
  8. scale — size or range
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. march — the month
  11. scale — in music
  12. scale — for weighing
  13. mouse — the animal
  14. capital — a city
  15. mine — for digging
  16. roll — a list
  17. pass — to spend time
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. march — the month
  20. roll — on a roll
  21. mouse — the animal
  22. capital — money
  23. swing — music
  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