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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: bass · capital · pass · hand · degree · club · face · pit

  1. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  2. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  3. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  4. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  5. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  8. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  16. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  21. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  22. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — a permit
  2. bass — low music
  3. club — a group
  4. pass — to succeed
  5. pit — a fruit stone
  6. hand — help
  7. bass — the instrument
  8. face — part of the head
  9. degree — an amount
  10. pit — in a race
  11. hand — in cards
  12. degree — temperature
  13. face — to confront
  14. capital — money
  15. face — to point toward
  16. bass — the fish
  17. capital — a city
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. degree — from a university
  20. pit — a hole
  21. club — for dancing
  22. club — for golf
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. pass — to spend time

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