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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 120 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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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 · bore · capital · straw · snap · mark · pass · wind

  1. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  2. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  5. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  8. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  11. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  12. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  13. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  18. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — to succeed
  2. bore — gave birth
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. pass — a permit
  5. mark — a grade
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. pass — to spend time
  8. dip — to dunk
  9. snap — to click
  10. dip — a sauce
  11. bore — to drill
  12. dip — to sink
  13. mark — to pay attention
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. bore — to tire
  18. snap — to snap out of it
  19. capital — money
  20. wind — moving air
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. mark — a trace
  23. capital — a city
  24. wind — moving air

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