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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: capital · pass · fan · toast · lie · mine · file · cap

  1. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  5. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  6. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  7. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  8. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  9. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  17. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  20. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  21. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  24. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. toast — a drink to someone
  3. capital — money
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. lie — to recline
  6. cap — a lid
  7. toast — bread
  8. fan — to cool the air
  9. cap — of ice
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. lie — an untruth
  13. file — a tool
  14. file — a line of people
  15. file — a document
  16. toast — the most admired
  17. pass — a permit
  18. capital — a city
  19. cap — a hat
  20. pass — to succeed
  21. pass — to spend time
  22. mine — for digging
  23. lie — an untruth
  24. fan — a supporter

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