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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  6. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  7. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  8. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. We're on a ________________ here.
  13. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  21. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. capital — a city
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. net — for catching
  5. safe — a strongbox
  6. roll — a cake
  7. hide — animal skin
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. net — after costs
  10. mark — a trace
  11. land — to come down
  12. roll — on a roll
  13. mark — a grade
  14. capital — money
  15. mark — to pay attention
  16. net — in sport
  17. field — a subject
  18. field — for sport
  19. field — farmland
  20. safe — out of danger
  21. safe — out of danger
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. land — a country
  24. roll — a list

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