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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 116 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: snap · pass · capital · cold · face · wave · track · mate

  1. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  3. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  4. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  5. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  6. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  7. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  12. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  13. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  14. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  15. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  16. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  17. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  22. Have you found your soul ________________?
  23. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  24. She had a strange look on her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. mate — to breed
  3. wave — a sudden rise
  4. track — to keep track
  5. track — a path
  6. face — to confront
  7. wave — with your hand
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. cold — not warm
  10. capital — a city
  11. pass — to spend time
  12. track — a song
  13. snap — to speak sharply
  14. snap — to click
  15. face — to point toward
  16. wave — of the sea
  17. pass — to succeed
  18. cold — an illness
  19. mate — a friend
  20. capital — money
  21. snap — to snap out of it
  22. mate — a partner
  23. pass — a permit
  24. face — part of the head

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