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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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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 · pit · racket · pass · patient · clip · squash · scale

  1. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  3. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  4. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  5. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  6. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  7. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  8. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  9. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  12. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  13. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  14. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  17. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  22. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  23. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  24. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. pit — a hole
  3. pass — a permit
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. pass — to succeed
  6. squash — the vegetable
  7. patient — calm and waiting
  8. squash — to crush
  9. pass — to spend time
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. scale — in music
  13. pit — a fruit stone
  14. racket — a loud noise
  15. clip — to cut
  16. pit — in a race
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. clip — for paper
  19. capital — money
  20. clip — a video
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. squash — the sport
  23. scale — size or range
  24. scale — for weighing

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